Fullmetal Alchemist: Afterstory
by Mother Of The Universe
Summary: Ed and Winry are married, and have a family. Al has got his body back. The broken country of Amestris is close to being completely fixed up, thanks to the work of Team Mustang and Team Briggs. But new enemy's are rising, and old enemy's are about to resurface. The journey never ends, but the Elrics are prepared for anything! Rated T for violence and language. ON PERMANENT HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1: Divination

**Hi! MotherUniverse here! This is my first fanfiction, the Fullmetal Alchemist After Story! I've never published one before, so if it's terrible, don't judge me. Please.**

 **As you can guess, it's what happens after the Brotherhood series. The events are mainly based off Brotherhood, but there will be elements from the Manga placed in there as well.**

 **The story will focus on the new Elric family, and the second generation of FMA. I probably have plenty of grammer mistakes, but whatever.**

 **I hope you like it!**

 **Part's of this chapter was inspired by a different fic called "Flowers of Antimony" (I forgot who wrote it though). So credits to the author, (whoever she is) for some of the inspiration. If she read's this, could she please tell me her username, so that I could give her some real credit later.**

 **Also; I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Most of the characters in this story, and a large portion of mentioned plot belong's to Himiru Arwakwa, and the rest of the company's and publishing houses that went into the book writing. The only character's that are made by me are the characters that will be mentioned who are not in Brotherhood or the Manga.**

 **Now, on to the story!**

* * *

 _Chapter 1: Divination_

* * *

"Equivalent Exchange! I'll give you half of my life, if you give me half of yours!" Ed shouted. He was positive he wanted this; every time he looked at his beautiful best friend, he knew he wanted this – he wanted _her_. But he also got tongue–tied, and somehow ended up shouting what he wanted to say, which made something he wanted to sound cute and happy sound like he wanted to eat her soul. He never thought he'd get Winry to like him like this. But here he was, after dating her for two years, asking her to marry him. Maybe they were a bit young, but he was confident he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Winry Rockbell. But then he has to go and add alchemy to asking a girl to marry him.

Winry groaned. "Aw c'mon, do you have to treat everything like alchemy? ?" She asked. "The whole equivalent exchange thing – it's just nonsense!"

Why was she saying this? Did she want to marry him or not? "What'd you say" Snapped Ed.

"It's _nonsense_!" Winry reiterated. "How about I just give you my whole life?"

The two paused for a second as they realized what Winry just said. She just said 'yes' to marrying Ed. _She said 'yes'._

Winry turned red. "Uh, maybe not all of it! 90, maybe 80%? 70? That's not enough. But 85, yeah, 85 is a good number!" Ed suddenly started to laugh. This woman – this beautiful, intelligent, kind, incredible woman – just took the laws of the universe and completely defied them without even realizing it. This woman – who barely even touched Alchemy books – did the one thing that Alchemist have been trying to do for centuries. She really was the greatest!

"What?! Shut up!" Snapped Winry, unhappy that her new fiance was laughing at her.

"I'm sorry, really!" Said Ed in between laughs.

"Edward!" She snapped.

"You are so incredible! You knocked Equivalent Exchange flat on it's but in just a few words!"

"And what's that mean? Are you making fun of me?" Asked Winry.

"Not at all!" Said Ed. Then he pulled her into a hug, holding her head like he did when he first hugged her as a child. "Thanks for cheering me up. I'll miss you"

Winry nodded. "Come home soon." She told him.

Ed was soon on the train, the love of his life waving at him as it sped off. In a few months he would come home, and then they could plan their wedding, and their future. He never quite believed in the art of divination, but right now, he was sure he was practicing it. He could see the future, a future with him and Winry. He pulled out a pencil and paper, and started to write to Al.

 _To Al,_

 _I'm currently on the train to Creta. I'm excited. I've never left the country before. In a few months I'll return home, and I hope not much will change._

 _Winry saw me off at the station. She's incredible, you know. She just made the laws governing the universe look like child's play without even realizing it. She's always supported us; I don't think we could've done any of the thing's we did without her constant care, and her always standing by our side. I love her for that. She never doubted us once, not even when we doubted ourselves._

 _Remember when we were young, and I would always try to make presents for Winry using alchemy? She wasn't found of our methods, the transmutations had always scared her. I didn't exactly know why I liked making her presents, I just knew I liked seeing her happy. Then one day when she came over for Establishment Day, and she was wearing that one red and blue dress, I just thought she looked beautiful. Of course, the next day I denied that I ever had those feelings to myself, but according to you that next day was the day we had a fight over who'd marry her. Whatever. I just know I've always loved her._

 _Anyways, I'm telling you all this because, well, I have some news for you. I've done the thing I've wanted to do since, well, forever, I guess. I asked her to marry me. And she said yes. We're gonna be together, Al! Can you believe that?_

 _I hope your doing well. Your invited to the wedding, of course. I need a best man after all, right? And when we see each other again, don't forget to tell me how Xing was. And I'll make sure to tell you everything about Creta._

 _See you soon, Al._

 _From your awesome big brother,_

 _Edward._

Ed put the note into an envelope, and addressed it. As soon as he arrived in Creta, he mailed it. Three weeks later, the letter was delivered to Alphonse.

Al read the letter. He found himself so happy he could cry. Without any hesitation, he ran right into the empires thrown room.

He had came into that room to chat with Ling so many times that the guards just let him in, no questions asked. Lan Fan didn't even eye him with suspicion anymore, which she did to just about everyone, even May, who lived with Ling ever since he became Empire. Al, out of breath, ran right up to Ling.

"Hey Al!" Ling said with good nature. "What's up?"

After taking a few more breaths, Al announced with a smile; "Big brother and Winry! Their getting married!"

* * *

Ed walked back to his house in Resembol, taking the long rout from the train station. He was nervous, thinking that the longer he took to get to his house, the better of things he could think of to say to Winry. He thought he really messed up with the proposal, and wanted to fix things. He bought a ring. It actually had good taste. It was silver, with diamonds, and it didn't have sculls or horns on it. It wasn't an obnoxious color, it didn't look like a bull. It was pretty and wonderful.

He walked into the house, took a breath and called out to his fiancee. She came downstairs, wrench in hand. Ed knew he had to be carful to avoid a crack in his skull.

"Ed, your back! Let me guess, you broke your auto-mail already" She said. Ed's guilty smile told her 'yes'. Winry felt herself grow mad. "Why can't you just stay out of trouble for once in you life?!" She snapped, raising the wrench over his head.

Ed quickly dropped on one knee, held out the ring box, and shouted, "Winry, will you marry me!"

Winry stopped mid-wrench. She grabbed the box, looked at the ring, and then looked at Ed.

"At least let me marry you before you kill me!" He said.

Winry suddenly started tearing up. Ed thought he did something wrong, but then she jumped on him, wrapping her arms around him. She pulled him close to her chest, laughing and crying at the same time, wedging her head into his shoulder.

"Thank you! Yes I'll marry you! Thank you!" She cried. Then, as if it wanted to ruin the moment so badly, his leg decided to give out, and the two of them fell to the floor.

"You really did break it, didn't you?" She scowled.

After a few wrenches to the head, Ed trying to put the wring on her finger only to accidentally drop it too the floor, and almost loosing the ring to the abyss of under the couch, the two of them sat at the table while Winry worked on fixing Ed's leg. She told him the house update; Granny had decided to take a vacation in the south, so she wouldn't be home for a few weeks. She also told Ed about the customers she received when he was in Creta. In turn, he told her about his travels. Eventually, Winry started to talk about things for the wedding.

"I already called Paninia and and Garfiel. Paninia's gonna be the maid of honor, and Garfiel want's to give me away. Who am I to say no? They're really excited about this. They've already been arguing about what they want my dress to look like. I was thinking that maybe — "

Winry wasn't able to finish her sentence before the phone rang. "I'll get it" Groaned Ed.

As soon as Ed grabbed the phone, he heard Brigadier General Roy Mustang's voice on the other side laughing at him. "Congratulations on your engagement with Winry! I didn't think you'd actually find a girlfriend"

"Well in case you hadn't noticed, _I'm_ about to get married and _your_ still single, General Germ-bag!" Ed quipped back at him. Then a thought occurred to him. He never actually _told_ Mustang he was getting married.

"And how did you know about the wedding, stalker?"

"First of all" The Brigadier General said back to him, annoyed. "I do not 'stalk' you. If I did spend my time stalking, I wouldn't waist it on watching _your_ boring life. Second of all, did you tell Alphonse about the wedding?"

"Of course I did," Said Ed, as if it was obvious. "He was the first person I told."

"Well, that makes sense" Mustang said to himself. "He must have told Empire Ling"

"Your point?" Asked Ed, hoping that this wasn't going to lead to chaos as he suspected.

"Ling decided to come to your wedding. Because he's empire, he's bringing an entire entourage with him. Then good old Fuhrer Grumman decided that if your inviting the national leader of another country, then the national leader of your home country should be invited too." Explained Mustang.

"But I don't even know the guy!" Shouted Ed.

"Doesn't matter. He's coming, and he's bringing his own entourage with him. Fullmetal, you just somehow turned a wedding into a national affair. Congratulations."

"Your kidding right?" Said Ed. _This can't be happening,_ he thought. He just wanted a small, simple wedding in Resembol with a few of his close friends and allies. Now the entire military is being dragged to his wedding.

"Let me get Winry on the phone" He said.

He called for Winry, and she walked into the room and grabbed the phone. Mustang explained everything to her.

"You've got to be kidding me" she said, exasperated.

"Yep, and Grumman even hired a wedding planner for you!" Ed heard Mustang say from the other side of the line. At this, Ed marched up to the phone, grabbed it from Winry, and shouted into it as loud as possible "WE DON'T NEED A WEDDING PLANNER!"

On the other side, Mustang held the phone as far from his ear as possible. "Well too bad!" He yelled back, "you're planner should be at your house in about…" The Brigadier General checked his watch. "Five minutes"

As if on cue, the door bell rang. Ed groaned, stomped over to the door, and opened it. He saw the face of a black haired woman he didn't recognize. She offered him a smile and a "hi". Edward instantly slammed the door in her face.

Winry walked up to the door, shouting, "Ed, open the door!"

Winry opened the door and let the woman in. "Sorry about that. Ed's not happy about the wedding situation."

"Well, I wouldn't be either if, but at least you get a free wedding planner." Said the woman good naturally. "I'm Rebecca Catalina" At this, she extended her hand for a shake.

Winry took it. "Nice to meet you. Winry Rockbell. So, Ms. Catalina—"

"Please, call me Rebecca"

"Rebecca. What's gonna go into this planning" Asked Winry.

"Well, we're gonna order some things, plan out decorations, and the wedding dress, of course!"

Rebecca looked Winry up and down. "Hmm," she muttered. "I think you'd look good in a strapless dress, ivory colored. The corset will have pearls on it, and the skirt will be full, flower-layered, and then a tiara with flowers, and a long vail" As soon as Rebecca's vision was in place, she grabbed Winry by the wrist and started to pull her towards the upstairs rooms. "Come on! We have to take your measurements! I want to start on the dress right away!"

* * *

A week later, Edward had made an emergency trip to Central. The reason for this trip was scrunched up in his hands. He marched up to the Brigadier General Roy Mustang's office, walked through the door without knocking, and slammed the newspaper on the desk.

"Front page!" He shouted. "Why is my wedding on the front page of the newspaper!"

"Because Grumman wanted it on there" said Mustang casually. "I'm sure it's not that big of a deal"

"Winry and I wanted a _simple, small_ marriage. First we get Grumman making it big, and now we have our wedding announced to the entire damn country! This wasn't supposed to happen"

"Well, if you want to complain, don't talk to me about it." Said Mustang. "In fact, you can complain to the Fuhrer. Grumman want's to meet you"

Ed rooted his feat into the ground. "Nuh uh! I'm not seeing that asshole who thinks that—"

Ed didn't get to finish his sentence before Mustang grabbed him by the coat hood and dragged him outside.

"LET ME GO!" Shouted Ed. "LET ME GO OR I'LL SHAVE THAT STUPID MUSTACHE OFF YOUR FACE!"

"Trust me, my subordinates already tried, and none where successful" Said Mustang. "That threat won't hold any weight with me"

Mustang didn't get it. He thought the mustache made him look cool and mature. He wasn't sure why so many people hated it. He already caught his subordinates trying to shave it off in his sleep several times, and even _Halkeye_ blatantly refused orders, saying that she'll only do what he said if he agreed to shave the mustache. Well, he guessed it was too bad for everyone else! He liked the mustache!

He dragged a struggling Edward Elric into the Fuhrers office. Grumman looked up at Mustang with a pleased look.

"Ah. I see you brought Edward with you. That's good, I was planning to talk to him." Grumman stood up and walked up to the two of them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Edward." The Fuhrer said.

"I'd like to say the same thing, but I have an honesty code" Said Ed bitterly.

"I'm assuming your unhappy about me interfering with your wedding" Laughed Grumman. "No matter. I understand. How's Miss Catalina treating you?"

"She's organized, I'll give her that." Ed grunted. "But I'd rather if Winry and I were able to plan the wedding ourselves"

"Well, that's too bad. I'm sure she'll do a great job at planning!" Said Grumman.

"Whatever," Groaned Ed, knowing he was fighting a loosing argument. "But did you have to announce our wedding on the newspaper?"

"Of course I did. Empire Ling put it on the Xingese papers. Why couldn't I put it on the Amestrian news?"

"HE WHAT!?" Shouted Ed. Grumman put a Xingese newspaper in front of Ed's face. The article was translated to Amestrian, so Ed was able to read what it said;

 _Congratulations to the Marriage of Edward and Winry Elric!_

 _By Empire Ling Yao_

 _I am happy to announce that my dear Amestrian friend, Edward Elric, is finally getting married to his beautiful girlfriend, Winry Rockbell. As you know, Edward had became my friend and my alley when I traveled to Amestris in search of Immortality. I am proud to say that I get to attend the wedding with_ my _beautiful fiancee, Lan Fan._

 _I am excited to know that my best friend is getting married. I hope that he and his new wife have a happy life and bare many children…_

Ed read through the article, getting madder at each word. Apparently, Ling was planning to have a Xingese style parade in his and Winry's honor in central city. As it was in their honor, Ed and Winry were required to attend.

"Why does this always happen to _me_!" Ed shouted, exasperated. He wasn't even married yet and he already wanted this wedding to be over with. Seriously?! Why?! Why did everyone have to make such a big deal out of it?! People got married _all the time_! Ed sighed. Maybe they could just sign some legal documents proving their marriage and just cancel the formal wedding. Ed knew that wasn't an option though; Grumman had already made this a national event, and there was no getting out of it.

As soon as Ed got out of the building, he went up to the phone booth, threw the newspaper out in the trash can next to it, called up Winry, and started ranting to her about everything that just happened.

A man with long red hair, wearing a brown trench coat and fedora, walked by Ed as he made his phone call. The man stopped to listen in. He collected the information in his mind.

 _A parade in honor of the one's getting married._ He thought. _At least_ _one of the sacrifices are bound to be their, and plus the one's with_ his _blood._

 _That will be the perfect time to strike!_

* * *

Over the days, Paninia came to Resembol to help Rebecca and Winry decide on the wedding dress. Ed wasn't allowed to see it, which bugged the hell out of him. He had tried twice already to look at it. The first time, he opened the door slightly, and saw the three girls putting pins in the petticoat of the dress. As soon as they noticed Ed was looking in, however, Paninia and Rebecca shielded Winry with their bodies, yelling "Get out!" to Ed.

The second time, they were fixing the bodice, but as soon as they noticed Ed, Rebecca threw a sheet over Winry, covering her up, while Paninia ran to the door and slammed it in Ed's face. "Stay out!" She had yelled.

This was the third time today that Ed tried sneaking up on them. He creaked open the door to see Rebecca fitting the crown that would hold Winry's vail on her head, and Paninia trailing the vail fabric behind her. They turned to see Ed watching.

Without warning, Paninia shot out her leg cannon at Ed. The cannon ball slammed into his stomach, forcing him into the wall at the opposite side of the door. The door was then slammed shut. The scooting sound coming from it made it evident that the women where blocking the door with the bookshelf.

The next day, there was a knock on the door. Ed was surprised to find Colonel Riza Halkeye at the door. Despite cutting her hair, which made her look less uptight, she still looked as professional (and terrifying) as ever.

"Colonel! Why are you here?" Asked Ed, worried that she had more new's about wedding interferences.

"I invited her!" Said Rebecca from behind him. Before Ed can ask why, Rebecca explained "I'd never make a sane dissection if I didn't have Riza with me."

"Rebecca asked for some assistance. Apparently you've been trying to sneak a look at the Bride in her gown." Said Riza.

Later that day, while Rebecca and Paninia worked on Winry's wedding dress together, Riza was watching Ed, and making sure he didn't go towards the upstairs. He couldn't even go upstairs to go to the bathroom. By the time the women were done, Ed had a full blatter, and only just made it to the toilet before wetting himself.

* * *

The next two weeks that went by were painful. It was mostly Rebecca and Winry deciding on their things for the wedding, with Riza and Paninia chiming in every so often. Ed tried to make suggestions, but his idea's were usually shot down because of his "bad taste". He was beginning to feel like it wasn't even his wedding at all.

He wanted to talk to Winry about it, but never had the chance to be alone with her. Over the weeks, multiple wedding guest where coming to their house. First came Rose, then Garfiel, then the Hues came, then the LeCoults, then Granny finally came home from vacation. Even Armstrong came, claiming that "the art of wedding planning has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations" (Rebecca wanted his assistance with the flower ordering). The house was crowed with people, and by the time night time came, Winry was so tired from planning and being pulled left and right for it that Ed didn't get to discuss anything with her.

On the day they were supposed to order the flowers, Izumi and Sig Curtis came. Izumi instantly got into the conversation, and even Sig made a few suggestions. Ed was feeling rejected and useless. He was starting to understand what General Germ-bag felt like in the rain.

Ed went outside, and sat on the roof of his house. He felt a bit more relaxed out here. Here, there was just the view. The view didn't need anyone, and it couldn't be ruined by anyone either, so therefore, no matter what he did, he wasn't useless.

"Can I join you?" Asked Izumi.

Ed hadn't even noticed she came onto the roof. He scooted over, and Izumi sat down next to him.

"Why aren't you in there planning the wedding?" She asked. "It's _your_ wedding, isn't it?"

"Sure as hell doesn't feel like it." Said Ed bitterly.

Izumi sighed. "When I got married, I didn't plan my wedding at all." She said.

"Really?" Asked Ed.

Izumi nodded. "It was all my mother. If it were up to me, my dress would've been a somewhat fancy-looking karate suit. With a black belt"

"Yet your wedding was, according to you, the best day of your life." Said Ed.

"That's because I made it." She said. Ed looked at her. "That was all me." She elaborated. "I had fun at my wedding because I decided that, even though I was wearing some shimmery ball gown instead of what I wanted, this wedding was going to be the best day of my life, and I will have the greatest future I can. Both I made happen." She said.

"Life is what you make it, I guess." Said Ed.

"True happiness is actually quite rare." Said Izumi. "Pure happiness, however, is what you give to yourself, and to others." Izumi sat up. "Morning Glories don't bloom often." She elaborated. "That's why we enjoy the other flowers"

"Morning Glories." Ed mused. "Those where my mother's favorite flower," He told his old teacher. "She loved that flower, because they were a rare sight. You had to wait for them to see their beauty. I think it had something to do with waiting for my father, or something. I always wanted them at my wedding."

At this, Izumi smacked him in the back of the head. "Then what are you doing here?!" She shouted. "It's _your_ wedding! You go down there and say exactly what flower you want!"

Ed jumped up. "Yes ma'am!" He yelled quickly, starting to climb down from the roof.

"Hurry up!" She yelled. "Their ordering the flowers now!"

Ed quickly ran into the room, shouting, "Morning Glories!" Everyone turned to him.

"What?" Asked Rebecca, slightly confused.

"I want Morning Glories in the bouquet." Said Edward. "They were my mothers favorite"

"The morality of love" Mused Rebecca. "The Morning Flower." She turned to Winry. "That's what I've been missing!" She suddenly shouted. "That's what have to be on the crown! Morning Glories!" Rebecca grabbed both Winry and Paninia by the wrist, dragging them upstairs. "Come on! We got some more planning to do!"

Riza sighed. "I'm on Edward watch again" She dragged Ed into the living room, where she would keep an eye on him until all was said and done.

* * *

One week before the wedding, Rebecca suddenly bolted upright in her bed.

"I FORGOT THE TUXIDO!"

Rebecca dragged Winry and Edward out of bed, and onto a train to Central, where she knew of someone who made custom and high-quality wedding tux's on short notice.

"I can't believe this! I can't believe that I remembered _every single detail_ about this wedding _except_ for the grooms wedding tux! That's one of the most important parts! I can't just have Ed showing up in sweatpants!"

"I wouldn't mind showing up in sweatpants." Groaned Ed.

Soon they were both in Central, Ed in the tux shop getting fit. The woman fitting him was getting very annoyed with Rebecca, who kept saying that she was doing something wrong. Eventually the woman just snapped at Rebecca, "Stop telling me how to do my job!"

Lan Fan walked into the shop. She was wearing a green kimono, with her hair in her usual bun.

"Miss Winry!" She shouted. "I heard you where in town. The parade is today."

"Oh, no! I forgot!" Said Winry. "It's a good thing we came here when we did, right Ed?"

Ed just grumbled in response. Lan Fan grumbled back. She then turned to Winry and said "I can't believe you settled for a guy like him"

Ed let out a notable growl of offense from the corner where he was getting his suit fitted. The woman fixing the suit snapped at him to sit still. Winry couldn't help but laugh. "He's not that bad"

Lan Fan scoffed. "Your way to good for a tiny midget like him"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY MIDGET! And who are you to talk anyways! You're the one who settled with that shifty-eyed, beanpole, nut job!" Ed shouted from his stuck spot. (He tried to jump at her, but stopped when that movement caused a pin to poke him)

"Don't you dare insult the young lord!" Lan Fan snapped at him.

"Why do you still call him that?" Asked Winry. "I mean, your going to marry him soon, you don't need to call him 'young lord'"

"I guess I'm still used to being his body guard" Lan Fan explained. "He asked me about twelve times before I agreed to marry him. I didn't think I would do a good job of body guarding if I was his wife. He was able to convince me otherwise"

"That's good" Said Winry, "I think you two will be great together"

Ling suddenly burst through the door. "Come on guys! What's the hold up? The parades about to start!" He said excitedly.

Ed was looking for just about any excuse to get out of the tuxedo fitting. However…

"Can you people just have some patience and wait for maybe, I don't know, FIVE MINUTES!" Rebecca snapped.

"Sorry!" Ling said, quickly abandoning the shop.

* * *

Being in the parade meant that both Ed and Winry where forced to wear traditional Xingese marriage garments. It wouldn't have been that bad, — it was red, so was somehow able to look both badass and ceremonial at once, plus Winry looked _really_ pretty in a Kimono, — but Ed's robes _definitely_ didn't fit him. They were too tight, and it wasn't like Ling could trek back to Xing so that he could grab some that fit; Ed would just have to grin and bear it.

This parade was the worst idea Ling ever came up with, and that was saying something, because he had had plenty of terrible idea's before.

It didn't make it better that he and Winry were going to be presented at center stage on the main float (Ling had gone all out. There where floats that looked like panda's, dragons, cat's and quite bunch of other things that Ed didn't care to name).

But on the bright side, Ed was able to see Al again. They talked about their adventures. Al told Ed all the things he had learned about Alcehestry, and Ed told Al about Celestial Bending, the Cretans method of Alchemy. It was quite a good conversation. Then Ed ended up complaining about all the chaos that happened with the wedding. Al thought have the things that happened where hilarious. Ed didn't find it funny. The two of them also talked with Jerso and Zampano for awhile. Both where excited to say that they where close to returning to their original bodies. Then they got on the topic of romance, considering it was the wedding day. After poking and prodding Ed for details of his plans for life with Winry, [where they want to go for the honey moon, what places they wanted to see, how many kid's they were going to have (Ed turned very red when asked that)], Jerso went on to tell them stories about his reconnection with his wife and daughter. Zampano had made peace with his son, and after years of being divorced with her, got back together with his wife. Then Al let it slip that he wanted to ask May to marry him.

"Then you do so!" Ed told him. "Just don't use alchemy metaphors when you propose" Al decided not to ask about the alchemy metaphor.

"You really think she'll say yes?" Asked Al.

Ed had a laugh at this. "Al, she's been crushing on you since your first real conversation, I don't think that asking her to marry you will be that big of a deal."

Ed was glad he was able to finally talk about something that wasn't his wedding, but that mood was ruined as soon as Brigadier General Mustache showed up to remind Ling that the parade had to start soon. He even had the audacity to laugh at Ed's robes.

"Well, looks like we finally found some cloths that aren't to big for you" Mustang laughed when he saw Ed wearing his too-tight robes. Ed just grumbled. He was to exhausted to care about the insult to his hight.

Finally, the parade started. It was joyful, and fun. Acrobats would do flips, fire breathers would show off, the people on the floats would sing, dance, and celebrate. And it was relatively easy. All Ed had to do was hold hands with Winry and wave to the crowd. It was actually sort of relaxing. She eventually leaned her head into his shoulder, which drew an 'awe' from the rest of the audience. Her head was warm, and Ed found that he liked it there.

May and Al sat on the same float, a few feet away from where Ed and Winry stood. They sat on it and talked. The red haired man could see them easily from the telescope of his sniper rifle.

 _There he is._ The man thought. _The forth sacrifice._ He aimed directly at Alphonse head, and pulled the trigger.

* * *

May could sense something bad in a building near by. In the corner of her eye, she could see the glint of metal. As soon as she heard a gun shot, she reacted on her first imnsteank to grab Al and fall to the floor. The bullet narrowly missed Al's head, and hit someone in the audience.

The people started to panic. Ling quickly shouted for them to get off the float. Ed and Winry made a run towards the ladder, as everyone started to run off their floats and as far away from the street's as they could.

The red–haired man gritted his teeth together. The riffle only had one shot, and it was waisted on that. _No matter._ He told himself, _I still have my alchemy_.

Using a basic transmutation circle drawn from chalk, he was able to take himself down to the parade grounds. In the panic, he was easily able to sneak up on the float the sacrifice was on, draw a transmutation circle, and use it to flip the float over.

As the float started to tip, Ed grabbed Winry's hand, and the two of them made a jump for it. Dust floated all around them as the two of them landed face first on the road. Ed quickly helped her up.

"Winry! Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She told him, dusting off her dress. "What was that?" She asked.

"I don't know," Ed said, "But whatever it is, it's defiantly something bad."

Just as the two of them were about to leave their spot, they saw something loom behind them. They looked behind them to see a giant monster made from stone. It was alit with red sparks, a sign that whatever the thing was, it was transmuted by a philosophers stone.

It took a swing at them, and they quickly ran from their spot. The thing grabbed Ed by the waist, and slammed him on the ground. Ed felt himself cough blood.

"Edward!" Winry cried, rushing towards him. She dragged him out of the way of the things giant fist. Ed quickly stood up, using Winry for support.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine" He told her. "We need to get out of here"

They quickly ran from the giant stone monster, searching frantically for someone they knew. However, the first thing they came across was another rock monster. They turned back to run away, but Winry tripped on her dress. Ed ran to help her up, but as soon as he got to her, she saw the looming shadow of the foot of the rock monster. Ed closed his eyes, held Winry close, and waited for the foot to crush him.

However, instead, he felt heat. He looked up to see the monster engulfed in flames. Behind the monster was Roy Mustang, his fingers in a snapping position.

"Run!" Mustang yelled out. Quickly, the three of them ran away from the large rock monster, hoping that the explosion was enough to at least slow him down.

"Alphonse made a tunnel to Central headquarters with alchemy. He and May are already attempting to evacuate the people"

The three of them ran up to the tunnel, where Ling and Lan Fan where helping with crowd control.

"Ed!" Ling called as soon as he saw him. "We're getting people into central. Al and May are already helping with injuries. That, or they're still digging the tunnel."

"Do we know who did this?" Ed asked.

"We're not sure." Ling said. "We can't sense any difference in chi, with all the panicking people"

"Well, it might help to know that the culprit may be using a Philosophers stone."

Knowing this, Lan Fan closed her eyes, and focused on finding rotting chi. It wasn't that hard to find now that she knew what she was looking for.

"I can sense it" She said.

"Then lead me to it" Mustang told her. "I'm going after the culprit"

"I'm coming with you" Ed said.

"You don't have alchemy. You'll only get in the way" Mustang told him.

"I can still fight!" Snapped Ed.

"Doesn't matter. You're gonna be useless if you come along. Go into the bunker. Help the citizens already there"

Ed was silent for a few seconds, before groaning, and muttering "You must feel so happy to call me useless", before going into the tunnel with Winry.

Mustang turned to Lan Fan. "You can guide me to him, right"

"Yes," she simply said.

"Then we'll go together." Mustang told her. "Ling, you'll need to go into the tunnels. You're to valuable of a political figure to go and put yourself at risk"

Ling was about to protest, when Lan Fan put her hands on his shoulders. "The Brigadier Generals right, my Lord. Go into the tunnels, and stay safe. I promise I'll be back."

"You better be" Ling said, before retreating into the tunnel with the rest of the crowd.

Mustang turned to Lan Fan. "Let's go" He said, and they went off to find whoever started this mess.

* * *

 **That's the first chapter of my first published fanfic! Hope you enjoyed it! Read and review, and all that good stuff!**

 **I'll try to update this story every two weeks, so be on the lookout for an update.**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	2. Chapter 2: Divination part II

**Hey hey hey! I'm back! Good thing to, huh?**

 **So, because I am a nice, wonderful, lovely human being, I decided to publish this chapter a week early! Also, I've been having a stressful day, and writing this helps me relax. So just think of this early chapter as a present from me, to you!**

 **But don't expect this to ever happen again. I am a slow writer. I just so happened to have the entire plot planned out for this chapter.**

 **So, again, parts of this chapter are largely inspired by elements from the fic "Flower's of Antimony", and I still don't know who wrote it, but creds to her!**

 **I still don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, and I probably will never own Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm nothing but a parent–freeloading, high school aged insane fangirl. And the mother of the entire universe. So don't expect me to own Fullmetal Alchemist anytime soon.**

 **ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

 _Chapter 2: Divination; part II_

* * *

Edward laid down on a cot in a safety bunker at Central Command. Al and May where helping to heal fatal wounds of the citizens. Winry was patching up less fatal wounds that could become fatal if left unchecked on other citizens. He heard that Jerso and Zampano where still outside, helping other citizens get to safety. Lan Fan and Mustang where trying to find the attacker who caused this mess. Someone had attacked what was supposed to be a peaceful event. The person had almost hurt Winry. Everyone was doing something, and here was, laying in bed, contemplating life.

Ling came and sat down next to Ed. "Let me guess," he said, "everyone is doing something, and your stuck here, waiting for things to get better"

"How'd you know?" Asked Ed, sitting up.

"It's the same way I'm currently feeling" Ling told him. "Lan Fan's out hunting down a maniac with a philosophers stone, with nothing but General Mustang to back her up, and I'm sitting here, hoping that she comes back safely"

"Must be hard." Ed remarked. At least his fiancee was here, and safe. Ling's was out in the chaos.

"She's already given up so much for me. Because of me, she lost everything. Her father sacrificed his life for me before she was born, and her mother did the same when we were 10. She lost her arm, then she lost her grandfather. I thought that by making her my wife, she might not loose anything else, but I might loose her."

"Don't worry" Ed told Ling. "She's strong. It took less than seven months to recover from automail surgery, whatever she's doing is probably a joke compared to that"

"I hope you're right. For her sake" Ling mumbled back.

Winry walked over to where the two boy's where talking and sat down between them. "Are you guy's ok? Anything injured?"

"Just a few scratches" Ling told her.

"Same" said Ed, "but I think I might have broke my ribs."

"Lets get you to Al and May, then" She told him, standing up and helping him along. "They can help"

Ed leaned against Winry as she almost effortlessly helped him stagger to wherever Al and May were. She was stronger then she looked. Not just physically, but also mentally, and emotionally. That was one of the many reasons he loved this girl.

Winry stood in the back of a long line of people getting healed by Alphonse and May. They where helping a lot of people. It made Ed just feel worse for not doing anything.

"I don't like this," He told Winry. "Everyone's trying to do something, and I'm absolutely useless."

"Were you useless when the Father of the Homunculi tried to destroy Amestris?" Asked Winry.

"What does that have to with—" Ed tried to say, but...

"Answer the question!" She snapped.

"No, I wasn't useless. But that was then. This is now." Ed told her.

"Yes, but if you hadn't stopped _his_ plans, everyone in this room wouldn't be here right now." She reminded him. Winry gave her worrisome husband-to-be a large, genuine, smile.

"You've done enough, trust me" She assured him. "Now, why don't you let someone else do something _for_ you, instead of feeling the need to do everything yourself"

* * *

Mustang followed Lan Fan through a disgruntled crowd, past multiple rock monsters, and into an abandon building somewhere outside of town. Mustang was actually quite surprised that she was able to find something that far away.

"Think of it this way," Lan Fan had told him, "have you ever walked past a place where hundreds of people had recently died and you knew it?" She asked.

"More times then I'd like to admit" Mustang answered.

"When that happens, you get an strange feeling. You feel sick, and scared, and you also feel like the dead are watching you, and growing angry at you for something you know you did that was wrong, making you feel gut-wrenching guilt. You feel the pain of someone who is trapped, and the pain of someone who died a painfully. You can also feel the rot of the chi, sinking into your skin, and turning your body into a prison. That is what the chi of a Philosopher's Stone feels like"

Mustang shivered at her explanation. At this moment, he was glad he wasn't able to 'read the dragons pulse'. If he had to sense this feeling more times then necessary, then he would probably drive himself insane.

"As soon as Edward told me what I needed to look for, I was able to focus on finding that sensation. There was only a small trace of it, since the stone was far away, but it was a very strong sensation, despite the small amount. To be honest, it's not that hard of a substance to find."

This conversation left Mustang very anxious. He started to wish that Hawkeye was with him. But no, Rebecca had to call her out into the middle of nowhere, and right when he had a lot of paperwork to do, too. And this work he couldn't slack off on, not if he wanted to keep a newly rebuilt Ishval from going bankrupt. But other then that, he just plain old missed her. But that wasn't surprising; he always missed her when she wasn't around.

"We're here" Lan Fan whispered, snapping Mustang out of his thought. He looked to see her pointing towards the door another room. He assumed the culprit was in there.

"Take this," he told Lan Fan, handing her a gun.

"I'm not good with guns." She told him.

"Whoever's in here doesn't need to know that" Mustang assured her.

The two busted into the room as soon as they where both ready. "Put your hands where I can see them!" Mustang shouted.

A man with red hair sat in the room, his hands placed on a transmutation circle. In the middle of the circle sat a philosophers stone. The circle was unlike anything both Mustang or Lan Fan had ever seen, and the stone was leaking what looked like gas into the air. The man looked up at them.

"Roy Mustang" he said with a smile. "The fifth sacrifice!"

"Stop what you're doing! Now!" Mustang demanded, readying his fingers in a snapping position. He was slightly curious what him being the 'fifth sacrifice' had to do with anything, but that matter would have to wait.

"I'll only stop once the sacrifices die. It's gotta be you, Alphonse Elric, and Izumi Curtis! Edward Elric has no gate, so he might not count, but I would prefer it anyway if you killed him too. All of you have to die! Or I'll kill all of Central"

Mustang felt his stomach drop. Whoever this man was, he wanted the Homunculi's 'sacrifices' dead. That couldn't be a good sign. "Why do you want us dead?" He asked.

"Because if you four don't die, then everyone else will!" He shouted.

Mustang sighed. Apparently this man wasn't going to tell anyone his motives. He was only making threats, which meant it would be pointless trying to get an answer out of him. Still... "And what do you mean by that?" Mustang asked, just to be safe.

"You sacrifices! You're necessary! You'll do what they want to do! You're evil!" He just shouted. The man looked quite crazed.

"I don't think we're going to get a sane answer out of this man anytime soon" Lan Fan whispered to Mustang. Mustang nodded. He couldn't spend any more time talking, not when lives where at stake.

Mustang snapped his figures, and aimed it at the man. A strange shape made from the floor blocked his fire, and another monster rose up from it.

"Remember the Immortal Legion?" Asked the red-haired man. "This is basically the same thing, except bigger, and more durable. I fused an individual sole in my philosopher's stone to it's body, and it is now the perfect one-man army!" He shouted with glee.

Mustang snapped his fingers, hoping to explode the monster. However, fire did nothing to burn away stone, and all this attempt was was wasted effort. Lan Fan instantly jumped past the monster and went for the man, thrusting her sword at him multiple times, but each attack he was able to dodge. However, Mustang saw this as a perfect opportunity. He ran to the corner of the room, grabbed what looked like an old bucket of paint just sitting there, and, while Lan Fan was distracting the red-haired man, he tried to poor paint over the transmutation circle. The paint in the can, however, was all dried up.

Mustang clapped his hands together, and touched the paint bucket, turning what was dried up paint into fresh liquid. He had never been so thankful of his clapping transmutation abilities. He was about to poor the paint on the circle, when the man noticed him. He shoved Lan Fan to the side, tackled Mustang to the floor, and kicked the paint bucket away from the circle, spilling it across the floor in the process.

Lan Fan ran to the spilled paint, dipped her hands into it, and ran to the circle to break it. The man swiftly turned towards her, grabbed out a gun, and fired. Lan Fan was able to dodge the bullet, but it skimmed her shoulder. Blood started to poor out of her right arm. Thinking fast, Lan Fan fell to the ground, and smeared her blood across the transmutation circle. The circle broke, and the philosopher's stone fell to the floor. Back at the parade grounds, all the rock monster's fell to pieces. Lan Fan let out a sigh of relief, before grabbing the Philosophers Stone.

The man jumped up from his position of pinning Mustang, and jumped on Lan Fan, trying to pry the stone out of her hands.

"General Mustang! Catch!" Lan Fan shouted, throwing the stone towards Mustang. Mustang caught it, placed it on the ground, and set it on fire. The roar of the flames attracted the red-haired man's attention.

"No!" He shouted, running towards the stone in an attempt to save it, but Lan Fan grabbed him and held him in a head lock, tossing his gun to the side so he couldn't shoot his way out of things.

As soon as the first set of flames died out, Mustang set the stone on fire. Once that wen't out, he set it on fire again. And again. And again. He kept lighting it up until the stone crumbled into multiple pieces, and dissolved into the air.

"You idiots! You needed to die! If you don't die everything can be destroyed!" The red-haired man shouted in an attempt to keep his plans from failing.

"Oh, shut up!" Mustang groaned. "I don't need to here your conspiracy theory's. You threatened the lives of multiple people. If you have a legitimate reason for wanting me dead, then lets hear it. But if you think that bringing other people who have nothing to do with me is a good way to achieve your goal, then you are a sick twisted human being, and I want nothing to do with you."

The man looked defeated. But then he looked Mustang in the eye and yelled, "The end justify's the means!", elbowed Lan Fan in the face, wiggled out of her grip, ran to the window, and jumped out, breaking the glass with his body. Lan Fan and Mustang ran to the window to see where the culprit was going, to see that he was nowhere in sight.

"He's gone!" Lan Fan shouted in surprise.

Mustang and Lan Fan spent the next two hours looking for him, but, surprisingly, Lan Fan couldn't even sense even a trace of his chi.

"I don't like this." She muttered.

"Me either." Said Mustang. "I have a bad feeling that this event is gonna open up a hideous can of worms"

* * *

The red-haired man trudged through the sewer's searching for the door. Once he found it, he walked trudged inside. Bleeding cuts and bruises covered his face, and he was limping, but he knew that his last chance to stop them was to kill Number 1. Number 1 was bound to be somewhere down the halls.

He stopped when he came across a woman in a dark blue cloak. He smiled. "Number 39. Pleasure as always"

Number 39 took down her hood. Her long black hair was pulled into a side pony tail, and her grey eyes where cold as ever. The man had to laugh at how much she looked like the man he just battled.

"Number 107. It's been a long time. You left without saying goodbye. I should be offended." Number 39 responded with a sneer.

"Where's the little girl that's always hanging around you. What's-her-name. Clara?"

"Cora" a voice laced with venom and insanity corrected him. A 14-year-old girl stepped out of the shadows. Her black hair was cut into a graduated bob, and her blue eyes had a crazed look in them. But, if one knew her family, the crazed look wouldn't be surprising. "But you'll call me McGravin. You and I, Number 107, are definitely _not_ on a first-name basis."

"Cora, be kind. I think the poor imminent is lost. I mean, why else would he be on the parade grounds when he _knew_ he was supposed to be at headquarters." Number 39 mocked.

"How'd you know about that?" Number 107 said with a shaky voice.

"Not much get's past _our_ ears, you should know that by now." Number 39 said. Her voice was no longer mocking, and now filled with anger and annoyance. Number 107 definitely could say he preferred the sooner to the later. "I heard you tried to kill a sacrifice. Do you know how _hard_ it is to get one of those these days? Especially now that people know the consequences of human transmutation. And you tried to kill Alphonse Elric too! Do you not know how _important_ his blood is?" She snapped.

"If I didn't know do you think I wouldn't have done it?!" Number 107 snapped, now almost as angry as she was. "I did it to stop you maniacs! Do you know what your plan is! It's insane! _He's_ insane! If you do this you will destroy yourselves and the rest of the world!"

"The world _need's_ to die for Him" Number 39 shouted. "You don't seem to understand that."

"No I don't" Number 107 admitted. "But that's why I have to stop you! Take me to Number 1 now, so I can kill him. I'm putting an end to your plans, once and for—"

Number 107 was cut off as his body completely exploded. Number 39 looked at McGravin, the obvious culprit, with an exasperated expression. "Was that completely necessary?" She asked. "I had a gun, it would've made things a lot cleaner."

"And where's the fun in that?" McGravin asked, wiping the blood off of the transmutation marks tattooed to her hands. The marks looked notably similar to the same one's the Crimson Alchemist had used.

"But you got blood all over your cloths. And I just washed them too." Number 39 sighed sadly.

"You're not my mother. I can do my own laundry." McGravin groaned "Besides, it's not like it'd make a difference if the military found the body or not. Our facility is just as safe."

"And now that we've gotten rid of that stupid rouge, so are our plans. Come, Cora, we should report this to Number 1. He's going to be very pleased"

* * *

After everything that had happened during the parade was cleared up, all the invited wedding guest took the trek back to Resembol. On the train, Rebecca kept fretting about all the things she should've bought while she was in Central, and wouldn't stop until Fuhrer Grumman gave her a direct order to stop fretting. Grumman sat across from Mustang.

"You know, I think after all your service today, a promotion's in the bag for you. How do you like the sound of Major General Mustang?" Grumman asked

"It's got a nice ring to it." Mustang mused. "I'll take it."

"It's not guaranteed. I'll have to bring it up with the senior staff of course. And not every member on that chair likes you" Grumman warned.

"Understood" Mustang laughed. "I guess not everyone want's me that close to the position of Fuhrer"

"You do realize your not the only one I have my eye on." Grumman told him. "Olivier Armstrong has my trust, and she's very responsible. She was also promoted to Lieutenant General after the promis day. And the senior staff has been seriously considering promoting her to General, considering she did whoop Drachma's ass last month!"

"Grumman!" Mustang scolded. Grumman just laughed. He always loved seeing people's reaction to when the Fuhrer sweared.

"All jokes aside though. You might have to wait awhile before you reach the top. Armstrong is more likely to be my successor, and knowing her, she'd probably keep the position for a long time."

"That's fine with me." Said Mustang. "I know she doesn't like me, but there are small amounts of people she trust. I happen to be one of those people. If she became Fuhrer, it would guarantee that I'd be next"

"That's optimistic. How do you know she won't just stick some Briggsman on the thrown instead?" Asked Grumman.

"Well, you can't have a thrown of ice forever." Mustang explained. "By the time she retire's, I would've reached General. I don't think she'd mind some fire at the thrown. It'd change things up a little."

"I just hope she doesn't put the anti-fraternization laws back in place" Grumman muttered.

"The what?" Asked Mustang.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm repealing the anti-fraternization laws!" Grumman cheered good-naturally. "That means you can finally ask my granddaughter to marry you!"

"And what gave you the idea that I'd want to do that?" Mumbled Mustang.

"I've seen the way you look at her. And the way she looks at you." Grumman explained. "I actually got a phone call from Riza earlier. She heard about what happened on the parade grounds. She was very worried about you. I think she likes you. Wouldn't you say so?"

Mustang didn't answer that. He just turned red. That was all the answer Grumman needed.

* * *

A large army of wedding guest came marching up to the Rockbell house. As soon as they walked in, the guest already there started to fuss over the arriving ones. Granny Pinako gave Winry, Ed, and Al a big hug. Gracia and Elicia did the same. Izumi gave Ed and Al a hug of her own, after a good, hard, slap on the wrist of course. Paninia and Garfiel where more then happy to see that Winry, Ed, and Al where ok, and where even very much relived that Lan Fan and Ling came out unscathed. Fuhrer Grumman was greeted with honor. And, surprisingly, he and Granny got into a chess game, which mostly ended with them arguing over wether or not someone cheated.

Roy plunked himself down on the couch, setting his glass of wine on the coffee table in front of him, thinking about wether or not he should fall asleep there. Riza sat herself next to him.

"I was worried, you know" She told him. "You went after a powerful, insane alchemist with just yourself and Lan Fan. You do realize how dangerous that was?"

"Yep" Mustang said. "But we lived. I wish you where with me though. We probably could've caught the culprit if you where with me."

"I wish I was too." Riza said, looking down at her hands. "You trust me to watch your back. I gladly do so, but I do worry about what's at your front."

Roy paused for a second, Grumman's words echoing in his head. "You know," he finally said, "there may be a way for you to watch both," he said flirtatiously.

"Sir, what are you talking about?" Riza groaned, knowing that when he used that tone of voice, his next words where usually insane. But before Roy could answer, however, Ed, Al, and Ling charged into the living room, Ed trying to pry what looked like a box of nuts from Ling's arms, and Al trying to pull him off of Ling. Winry and Lan Fan suddenly ran into the room, Lan Fan immediately beating up on Edward, and Winry sneaking her way over to the couch where Roy and Riza where sitting.

"Sorry," Winry told them. "Ed and Ling got drunk, and now they think that the nut box is some sort of sacred artifact"

Roy watched the battle transpire in front of him. Sadly enough, Riza got up from the couch and walked away. Winry ran towards the battle to try and intervene. Roy groaned. And he was so close to asking her out on a date, too.

* * *

The morning of the wedding, Winry decided to go visit her parents graves. She was hoping to tell them the good news. The closer she got to the cemetery, the more anxiety she started to feel. She didn't have her parent's guidance. They wouldn't be there to walk her down the wedding aisle, or to tell her that she made the right decision. What if they didn't like what she was doing? There could be a number of things she could be doing wrong. They might not like that she was marrying so young, or that she was marrying only two years after she started dating. They might not like that the wedding was so big. Her parents had a small wedding. What if that was the way they liked it? _Funny,_ Winry though, _out of all my anxieties, I never once worried that my parents wouldn't want me marrying Edward. Come to think of it, I think my mom and dad always secretly hoped I'd marry Edward, instead of someone else. I guess they thought that since I've known him so long, there would be no secrets involved._

Winry couldn't say she was surprised when she saw Edward standing in front of his parents. grave. She smiled. _I guess we had the same idea,_ she thought. Winry walked over to him and grabbed his arm.

"Your up early" she teased.

"Like you're one to talk" He said. Winry had to laugh at that. He was always so cynical. She loved it.

"Do you think you're mom would like this?" Winry asked.

"Well, she wouldn't be pleased that we where marrying at 20, but I don't think she'd mind me marrying you" He laughed.

"My thoughts exactly" Winry said. She nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "Our parents are probably cheering us on right now. What about your dad, do you think he would like this?"

"Like he'd care. For the longest time, he couldn't even remember your name." Ed sighed. "But, I don't think he'd mind us being together. My mom made him happy, I'd think dad would want the same"

Ed had gotten used to calling Hohenheim "Dad". By now, it felt just as natural as calling his mom, "mom".

"Our parent's are gonna enjoy watching our future" Ed told Winry. Winry nodded. She had exactly the same thoughts.

* * *

 _15 years ago..._

The Rockbell's had come over to the Elric's house for founders day, like they had done for the last two years. This meant that Ed and Al would get to use Alchemy to make her a present. The problem was, ever since they tried to do the same for her birthday (That ended in disaster. Winry ended up getting scared and crying, and it took her parent's an hour to calm her down), Winry hated watching them perform alchemy, which was something that Edward Elric found extremely irritating.

"No! I don't care what you're making!" Winry had yelled at them. "I don't want a present, and I don't want to watch you make one!"

"And why not?" Edward yelled back. "Alchemy is cool! You just don't want to watch us make stuff because your a big fat chicken!"

"I'm not a chicken!" Winry protested "And who are you to talk! You're the one who's scared of spiders!"

"Well, at least I'm not terrified of automail!" Ed yelled. "I, unlike you, am not scared of something my friend likes to do!"

"Automail doesn't make ghost appear from the floor!"

"It's transmutation! Not ghost summoning!"

"Big brother, Winry, calm down." Al told them, trying to be the voice of reason. "I'm sure that we—"

"Shut up, Al!" Ed yelled.

"Don't drag Alphonse into this, it's not his fault! He's not trying to shove alchemy on me!" Winry lectured.

"I'm not trying to shove it on you! I just want you to watch me make you a present!" Ed snapped.

The two continued bickering, until eventually Ed's mother and Winry's parents came into the room to settle the argument.

"Edward, Winry! Why are you shouting at each other?" Ed's mother asked.

"She won't let me make her a present!" Ed wined.

"He's doing that weird alchemy thing again!" Winry cried. "He knows it scares me! He's just doing it to be mean!"

"I'm not!" Ed snapped.

"Guys!" Winry's mother said, trying to calm them down. "Let's just take a deep breath. Winry, I'm sure Edwards not trying to be mean. He just wants to show you what he can do"

"But, I don't want to watch it!" Winry told her mother.

"How about this" Edward's mother suggested. "Don't look at the transmutation. Look at Edward. He can make you a present with alchemy, and you just look at him."

Ed and Al went to the circle and began to transmute her present. Winry stood to the side, looking at the back of Edwards head. She didn't look anywhere else. Soon the boy's where done.

Winry walked to the center of the circle, where they had created a stuffed animal for her. They had turned a pillow into a pretty, pink stuffed chicken. Both Ed and Winry's mother looked at each other cautiously. But, luckily enough, Winry picked the chicken up, and hugged it. Ed walked over to her.

"See, it's not that bad" Ed told her.

"Thank you!" She said, and pulled Ed into a hug. Edward suddenly turned red, awkwardly hugging her back and patting her head. Al walked over to Winry and gave her a hug too. Ed stepped a little way's away from them, still looking very red and finding the wall very interesting.

Later, the two brother's laid in bed in there rooms. Ed had conveniently forgotten how red he had turned, but unfortunately for him, Al decided to bring the topic of Winry up, which, much to Ed's dismay, was constantly making him blush.

"Winry really liked the chicken." Al said. "I almost thought a chicken wouldn't be a good present."

"Can we not talk about Winry?" Ed said a little to fast.

"Why not?" Al asked.

"She keeps making me turn red. I don't like it!" Ed explained.

"Red, huh? Maybe you're blushing." Al pointed out.

"I'm not blushing!" Ed snapped. "Blushing is what you do when you have a crush on someone! I don't have a crush on Winry!"

"That's good." Said Al. "Because I'm planning on marrying her when I'm older, and I don't want competition"

"You can't marry her!" Ed suddenly blurted out.

"Why?" Asked Al.

"Because... Because..." Ed's entire face turned into a tomato. "Because I think I want to." He said quietly.

"But you said you didn't have a crush on Winry!"

"Yeah, well, I lied!"

"But you can't marry her! I wanted to first!"

"But Winry likes me more!"

"No she doesn't! She doesn't like you at all!"

"What makes you think that!"

"You're always mean to her! And I'm nice!"

"Yeah, but it was my idea to make her a present!"

"And you're idea to make her watch alchemy! You know it scares her!"

"Giving her a chicken was my idea!"

"But you also _called_ her a chicken!"

"It's a figure of speech!"

Ed and Al's mom came into the room. "Boys!" She told them. "Be quiet! You don't want to wake the whole neighborhood, right?"

"No," the two of them grumbled. Their mom gave them each a kiss goodnight, and then left the room.

"How about tomorrow, we settle this like men" Ed whispered.

"Yeah, we'll fight for Winry's hand in marriage." Al proclaimed. "Winner takes all!"

The next day, Winry received a knock on the door. She opened it up to see Al at the door, and Ed a few feet back pouting at the steps. "Winry!" Al cheered.

"What is it, Al?" Winry asked, slightly concerned. It wasn't often that Ed pouted.

"Me and Ed had a fight!" He said, uncharacteristically excited about this fact.

"Aw, not again!" Winry groaned.

"But it was a different kind of fight!" Al protested. "It was a fight over who'd marry you when we got older, and I won!"

When Winry didn't respond, Al said, "So, will you marry me when your old enough?"

"No," Winry stated shortly, and went to shut the door.

Ed quickly ran up to the door and stopped her from shutting it. "If you're not gonna marry Al, does that mean that your gonna marry me?" He asked excitedly.

"Nuh-uh" She chimed, and went, once again, to shut the door.

"But why?!" Both boys simultaneously cried out.

Winry cranked the door open again, looked them both in the eye, and said, "I just don't like men who are shorter than me", and finally shut the door.

Ed and Al paled, crumpled into dust, and blew away in the wind. (Well, not literally, but that's what they felt like).

* * *

 _Present day_

To this day, Winry still laughed whenever the thought of the memory. Ed had no recollection of it, but that was probably for the better.

Rebecca came rushing up to the Winry and Ed, still standing by the graves. "Guys!" She panted, nearly out of breath, "Wedding... 'bout to... start!"

* * *

Roy sat in one of the chairs in an empty row. He had one of his nicer tuxedos on, but nothing odd or out of the ordinary for him. He did come his hair back though.

Riza came and sat down next to him. She was wearing a black, knee-length, turtle-necked dress. Half her hair was up, tucked into a ballet bun. She was quite the eye turner.

"Black, for a wedding." Roy mused. Riza gave him a laugh and a smile.

"Rebecca said it looked good. To be honest, I trust her taste more than mine." Riza explained.

Roy smiled at her. "Well, I think you look lovely"

"You don't look too bad yourself, sir" She replied.

"Thank you" He said. There was a pause, but it wasn't awkward like many other silences where. It was a lovely silence. It fit them.

"Wanna know something your grandfather told me?" Roy asked. "He said that he was planning on repealing the anti-fraternization laws"

"Really. That sounds like something my grandfather would do. You do know what that means right?" She said, a small smirk twitching onto her lips.

"I know exactly what that means" Said Roy, an even bigger smirk on his. "So, wanna add some fuel to my fire?"

"That is a terrible way to ask me on a date" Riza quipped. "But, I'll do it anyways. On one condition"

"One condition?"

"You have to shave the mustache" Riza said plainly, but Roy could tell that inside, she was laughing up a storm. She finally had him on a leash.

Roy sighed. He touched the mustache. He thought it made him look mature, and serious, but he guessed that everyone else thought otherwise. Besides, a date with Riza Hawkeye was worth shaving off some facial hair.

"Fine" He groaned, his voice full of mock disappointment. But in reality, he couldn't have been more happy. And Riza didn't need to read between the lines to know that.

* * *

Ed looked in front of the mirror, all dressed up in a white suit. His hair was pulled back in a neat braid, his shoes where shiny, clothes clean, absolutely nothing out of place. The only thing that would make it better, would be if his face stopped turning into a tomato.

"Nervous?" Asked Al, popping up besides his brother.

"No," Ed lied. But after a glare from Alphonse, he lost the mask. "Ok, fine. I am absolutely, completely, terrified for my life and soul."

Al laughed. "Come on! You've got this" And that was all Ed needed.

Ed walked out to the alter, and Al stood besides him. Garfiel lead Winry out for a few feet, and then stopped, letting her walk on her own. Paninia walked behind her, holding the vale, and Elicia, the flower girl, walked besides Winry with a basket.

Winry looked beautiful. The full, layered shirt hid her feet, giving her the appearance that she was gliding. Her vale gave her the illusion of having wings, the silver crown appearing as a halo. She looked like an angle, and every detail, from the jewels on her bodice to the morning glories in her hair just enhanced the look. And Edward was about to make this beautiful angle a part of his family. They where going to be together. Forever.

Most of the speech and vows and the priest saying the words didn't register. All he knew was that the most beautiful person he had ever seen was standing in front of him. He said "I do". He held her hands. And, even though they where in front of people, even though romantic jesters always had scared the crap out of him, he kissed her patiently, and the only heat he felt in his face was the warm skin of Winry Elric.

* * *

The reception was joyous and fun, filled with dancing and kissing, and food. Both Winry and Ed danced with just about everybody. They enjoyed the Champagne, but ended up having to hide all alcoholic beverages after Armstrong got drunk. (It wasn't a pleasant sight. He got up on the table, and took off a bit more then just his shirt).

Roy and Riza shared their first kiss. They weren't planning too, but Ed when Ed say Roy pull Riza close to him while dancing, he started yelling and chanting "Kiss her!". Soon, every one joined in. Roy finally pulled her into a kiss when Darius transformed into his gorilla form, jumped up on his table, beated his chest, and shouted "Kiss her!" at the top of his lungs.

Sometime into the wedding, Al snuck May outside the tent and asked her to marry him. His proposal was much more romantic and way less awkward then Ed's (Not that Ed was hiding behind a bush and spying on them), but all the same, Ed could tell his brother was just as nervous as he was when he proposed. They where related after all, they couldn't be too different.

Halfway through reception, Grumman stood up on the table and announced that he was revoking the Anti-Fraternization laws. This caused just about all the military members in the room to cheer. Suddenly, the stiff people there suddenly started flirting with each other. Rebecca got slightly drunk and ended up kissing Jean (he was slightly drunk too, so it wasn't that awkward), Denny Brosh, unsurprisingly, had asked Maria Ross to join him in a dance. Soon, everyone in the military was flirting with another guy or girl. Even Fury and Sheska had started having a fun chat (Fokker had introduced them).

The wedding was agreeable the best thing that had happened in a large number of years.

Ed sat down at one of the tables, watching Winry as she danced with Elicia. He smiled. The light glowed around her making her look as radiant as the sun. This was definitely one of the best day's of his life.

Izumi came and sat down next to him. "See, what did I tell you." She said with a smile.

"'Pure happiness is what you give yourself and others'" Edward quoted. He turned to give her a smile. "I can say for a _fact_ that pure happiness is everywhere here!"

"I think you're right" Izumi mused. Ed felt a swell of pride. It wasn't often that his teacher said he was right. "Don't let it go to your head though" Izumi added, as she seemed to have read his mind.

"Don't worry, I won't." He assured her.

"Now go out onto the floor, I think you're wife wants to dance with you!"

Sure enough, Winry was there in front of him, with a smile on her face and a hand held out. "Come on, husband! Let's have one more dance!"

"Sounds good to me!" Ed cheered. Soon the two of them where out on the floor again, spinning and dancing and laughing. And even as the guest started to file out and leave for home, they still danced together like there was no tomorrow. After all, it wasn't every day they had this big of cause for celebration.

* * *

Number 39 walked into a cold, dark, room. She would have to send a request to Number 6 to get better lighting, it was hard to see where she was going with current conditions.

She walked into her own room, picked up a brush, and continued painting. She was an excellent artist, and her organization loved hanging her paintings in the main room. She finished the last final touches, and then left to grab a frame.

A perfect portrait of the Father of the Homunculi sat in her room, waiting to be framed.

* * *

 **And, ta-dah! The last part of Divination has been written. So how'd you like it? Terrible? Bad? Good? Excellent? Incredible?**

 **The best story you've ever read?**

 **Ha! Probably not, but if you have a suggestion on how to make it the best story you've ever read, please say so in the comments!**

 **So, Edward and Winry got married, and now we know what went in to Ed and Al's fight over who to marry Winry. This was never a flashback in the show, (probably because Ed didn't remember it, and I don't think it would've done anything for the plot line) so I jumped at the opportunity to make it one!**

 **We also got Royai fluff! I hope it didn't seem to forced, though.**

 **And discussion on who will be the next Fuhrer! Will it be Armstrong? Will it be Mustang? Will Grumman suddenly become immortal and stay Fuhrer forever? The last one is unlikely, but I'll give you a spoiler, Mustang _will_ become Fuhrer at some point. Will it be in the next chapter, or many chapters on? You'll just have to wait and see! **

**Next chapter, Ed and Winry experience they're first pregnancy (More Winry's pregnancy then Ed's, but you get the point), someone will become the new Fuhrer (or Grumman will become immortal), and some nasty stuff goes down on the Fuhrer crowning day. Plus, we'll be finding out what in the world Selim Bradley has been doing all this time. TAKE CAUTION! THE TID BITS WITH HIM WILL BECOME VERY RELEVANT. We'll also receive more details about the organization Number 107 used to belong to.**

 **Can't wait for next time!**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out.**


	3. Chapter 3: A Way Of Life

**Hello! MotherUniverse out here with a new chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist: Afterstory!**

 **I'd like to thank a few people who commented on my last chapter. 2 of them are guest. I don't know if they're the same guest or not, but either way, I'd like to thank them. I'd also like to thank hamsterboy3 (who is also a guest, so I sadly can't PM him) for giving me grammar and spelling corrections, which I have done. You're awesome, hamsterboy3. **

**I want to give a giant honor to the first person who ever commented on any of my stories, the lovely xXPokeFictionXx. You win the MotherUniverse Award for worlds most awesome being. **

**So, as always, I am a freeloader high schooler, so I obviously don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or most of the characters (Cora McGravin and the organization with the blue coats are mine though, just saying), that belongs to Himiru Arakwa, the queen of our fandom. So, don't ask me to make this into a real story, because I don't have that much money (I have, like, probably around $150 total, and I've collected that stuff over the course of all my 15–16, 17? years of existence. Iomida is a country made up by me, so I guess in some ways, it's mine too. So, hey! I own an extremely cold and small country between two passive aggressive (or just aggressive in some cases) larger country's, I'm richer then I thought!**

 **Also, I have to warn you, there is a lot of sadness going on in this chapter, so read with caution. And I apoligise in advance for stabbing my poor children in the gut with a knife of feels.**

 **So, without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 3: A Way of Life

* * *

Iomida was a little country that was crammed between Creta and Drachma, and was famous for having the worlds smallest population. The climate ranged from cool, to cold, to to extremely cold, to the you'll–get–hypothermia–the–moment–you–step–outside kind of cold. As this was the case, the main export from Iomida was Frozen Air, which was useful to the people who wanted to fill up oxygen tanks but had no idea how to actually get air inside (with Frozen Air, you just stuff in an ice cube, heat up the tank, and wait for it to turn to gas). Ed had no idea why he thought this frozen wasteland of a country would be a nice place to check out, especially since the only unique thing about this country's alchemy was that they called it "Myne", and they called the Philosophers Stone "The Immortal Rock". (Myne was literally the exact same thing as Celestial Bending; It drew energy from the atmosphere, the transmutations had green sparks, and the only circle he hadn't seen before was a circle that turned flesh into dirt, which would never come in handy for anyone who wasn't a serial killer. As for The Immortal Rock, the people of Iomida thought that it was nothing more than a legendary theory, and the President looked shocked when Ed claimed to have seen a stone before. He didn't tell the president what it was made up of, of course.) Ed had just heard a country called their alchemy Myne, and thought that it might be worth the research, only to discover it wasn't. He was stuck there for the next two weeks, however, because the next train to Creta wouldn't leave until then. He just wanted to go home.

He was reading a book in the hotel room and watching the blizzard outside when the rooms phone rain. It was probably Winry. He had left about three weeks after their honey moon to Aurgo, and one week after Al and May's wedding. She had called him often to give him updates on life. She was currently getting sick in the mornings, and was going to the doctors. She told him he would call him when she had the results.

He picked up the phone and said "Hey, Winry"

"Hi, Ed!" She said, a bit too happy. This could mean something good, or something that would turn out disastrous. "How are you doing?"

"I'm stuck in a frozen wasteland, and I won't be getting out of here for another two weeks, how do you think I'm doing!?" He moaned. He didn't mean to snap, but he was in a bad mood, which often caused him to loose control of his volume.

"Well, someones in a bad mood!" Winry teased in a sing–song voice. Ed had to be weary of that voice tone. "Wanna know something that might make you feel better?" She asked.

"Please," Ed groaned, "The only thing that can make me feel better at this point is finding out that—"

Winry cut him short. "I'm pregnant!" She squealed excitedly.

Ed suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of emotions coming out of him, with twelve forms of happiness, ten forms of fear, some excitement, a queasy feeling, and a small amount of new found parental over- protectiveness. It was definitely to much. He soon lost conscience, and fell to the floor.

"Ed? Edward? Hello?" Winry called through the phone, curios at what had happened to her husband.

* * *

Two and a half weeks later, Ed bust through the door of his house, yelling, "The baby! Where is it?! Where's the baby?!"

"Edward" Winry calmed him down, "I'm just pregnant, the baby hasn't come yet!"

"Oh, right!" Ed laughed, a little less frantic. He walked over to his wife, bent down with his ear to her belly, and wrapped his arms around her. "I can't hear anything" He said, growing concerned.

"Ed, I've only been pregnant for two weeks, you don't hear anything at this stage. I'm not even showing yet!" She reassured him.

"Oh, good!" Ed said, standing up to her eye level. "I'm just nervous I guess!"

"Don't be!" Winry said cheerily, "I'm sure you'll be a great father!"

Those words made Edward happier then he could possibly describe. He suddenly picked Winry up, and spun her around. "We're gonna have a baby! It'll be a baby! A real baby! It'll be so awesome! And we're gonna give it a room, and baby food, and cloths, and we'll teach it alchemy, and if it's a boy we can name it after his father!"

"We're not naming our kid "Edward Elric Junior," Winry groaned. Ed pouted, but then he made a large smile.

"Well, it doesn't matter what we name it, or what gender it is! It'll be our kid, and everything is gonna be the great!" Ed cheered.

"I think you're right!" Winry said, with an equal amount of happiness in her voice. "This is the start of something great."

* * *

The next five months were full of twist and turns. Winry was finally showing, and Ed was taking joy in listening to her stomach and feeling the baby kick (He sometimes got carried away and stuck his head up her shirt), and shopping for decor for the baby's room . However, Winry's mood-swings where unpredictable and crazy, they spent about 1 millions cenz on just food alone, and was frequently woken up in the middle of the night by Winry, because she either needed to go pee, or had some weird, random, craving.

One day, they where coming home after buying some maternity cloths for Winry, when they got a phone call from Alphonse. Al had a house near the border of Amestris, so that he and May could easily go to Xing if desired. He and May had been living there for a while, but visited Resembol often. Ed picked up the phone.

"Big Brother! Guess what!" He cried excitedly from the other side of the phone. "May's pregnant! We're gonna have a baby!"

Ed and Al on both sides of the phone had multiple jumps for joy. "You're gonna have a family!" Ed shouted joyously. "And I'm gonna have a family! Our kids will be cousins and they'll be best friends!"

"And you're gonna be an uncle!" Al told Ed. That fact didn't exactly occur to Ed.

"What if your kid doesn't like me?!" Ed shouted in fear.

"Didn't we have the same conversation a few months ago?" Al laughed. He had feared that Ed's child wouldn't like him, and Ed successfully assured Al that there was no possible way that that would be the case.

"Yeah, but everybody who meet's you knows that your the nicest person ever!" Ed told him "I'm belligerent! And short-tempered! And mean! And rood! And—!"

"And fun, and creative, and an out-of-the-box thinker, and a very caring person" Al assured him. "Trust me, my child's gonna really like someone like that."

"Yeah, but children don't usually like me" Ed said quietly.

"Ed, your going to have your child before I have mine, that should help." Al told his big brother. There was nothing but silence, though. Al suddenly knew what was going on. "You have the same fear about your kid, don't you?"

"I don't know how to be a father." Ed said bitterly. "I don't know how to make my kid like me, or to make sure he grows up well, or to make sure he actually lives long enough to become an adult. What if I do something wrong?" Ed asked.

"You'll figure it out, I guess." Said Al. "I'm not a parent, so you can't exactly ask me advice on how to be one. I'm nervous too Ed, but I'm gonna have faith that I'll know what to do when the time comes. You can do that too, right?"

"I think I can, Al." Ed said. "I think I can. You're gonna come over soon, right?"

"Yep!" Al cheered.

"Cool." Ed responded. Ed looked over to his left to see Winry waiting patiently for the phone. "Al, Winry's been waiting for the phone, so I'm gonna hand it over to her. You can tell her the good news. Cool. Yeah, bye."

Ed walked over to the dinner table and sat down. He thought about what Al had just said. Maybe he was right, and maybe when his baby was born, he'll know exactly how to raise it. Granny came over an sat next to him.

"You seem worried about parenting" She said.

"I don't know how to do this" Ed told her honestly.

Granny laughed "I had the same thoughts when I was pregnant with Winry's father. And when I was raising him, it was mostly improvisation on mine and my husbands part. But we figured it out. When it comes to parenting, there's not much to it, you give 'em love, keep them alive and healthy, and every so often you give them a few slaps on the wrist. If anything crazy comes up along the way, you usually have enough figured out to know how to handle it." Granny suddenly laughed. "Don't even get me started on Urey's punk faze. It started when he was fifteen and lasted a good two years. It was the most chaotic thing that I ever went through"

"Uncle Rockbell went through a punk age?" Ed said, somewhere between shocked and bursting to the seams with laughter.

"Yes," Granny said with a sigh, "A punk age. It was a nightmare! I was completely unprepared, but I tried my best, and I think Urey grew up fine, if I do say so myself"

"Maybe I can name my kid Urey, if he's a boy" Said Ed with a smile.

"Don't name him Urey." Granny warned "I think it was his name that brought about his punk faze. People kept telling him it sounded punk, and that's when it all went south"

"I'll take that into consideration then" Ed laughed.

"Hey, Granny! Al wants to talk to you!" Winry suddenly called from the phone. Granny gave Ed a reassuring smile, and walked over to the phone. Winry took her grandmothers place in sitting next to Ed.

"What were you two talking about?" Winry asked.

"Parenting" Ed said simply.

Winry laughed and leaned her head onto Ed's shoulder. "You'll be a great father, and a great uncle" She told him. "You're already a good husband, how much of a difference can there be?"

* * *

Lieutenant General Armstrong had recently been told by the Fuhrer himself to come to Central Command, because he wanted to have "A good-natured chat between friends". Armstrong had left Miles in charge, and then went hiking down to Central for this 'chat'. She had a feeling that something good would come out of it, so was more then happy to talk to Fuhrer Grumman about whatever he wanted to talk about.

She came to his office and stood in front of his desk, giving him a salute. "Fuhrer Grumman, you called for me?"

"Yes, sit down," He said good-naturally, gesturing to the seat in front of the desk, which Armstrong took. "I'd like to have a talk with you about my retirement plan" He said with a smile.

"Excuse me?" Armstrong asked, hoping for clarification.

"In about four months, I'm going to retire. As much as I'd like to remain Fuhrer for longer, my back keeps killing me, and the doctor said if I have any more stress, I'm gonna kill myself. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm getting old. What I'd like to talk with you about, is my plans for a successor"

"You need to choose a new Fuhrer." Armstrong said. It wasn't a question, she already knew that this was why he called her into his office. "And I'm assuming that's why you called me in"

"I'm promoting you to General, Olivier Armstrong. That way, when I retire, you'll be the one who takes over. I want you to become the next Fuhrer." Grumman stated. Armstrong hid her giddy excitement (a childish sort of excitement that she hadn't felt since she learned to sword fight as a little girl) through a satisfied smirk.

"Fuhrer Olivier Armstrong." She mused. "It has a nice ring to it. I like it. Might I ask though, why me, of all people?"

"Multiple reasons. One of the reasons it that you're the only one of high rank that I trust with the position of Fuhrer. But that's not all. If I was going just by trust alone, you'd be in a tough competition with Major General Mustang. But there are other reasons I think you'll be a good Fuhrer. Mustang's only in his early thirties. He's too young, if you ask me. But me, on the other hand, I'll be eighty next month. I might have enjoyed my time as Fuhrer, but I was old. You're in a good stage, age wise. You're what, early fifties?"

"Fifty-two" Armstrong grumbled.

"That's a good age. You're young enough to keep the throne for awhile, and be a constant for the people of Amestris, and old enough not to rule recklessly. You're also tough, responsible, a good leader, and, even though you don't like to admit it, you do care for people. You are the exact person I'm looking for to lead our country, and the rest of the senior staff agree's with me"

Armstrong smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. I'll make sure to run this country well"

* * *

Al and May where staying at the Elric house. May was two months pregnant, and Winry was six. Both woman where crabby, slightly bipolar, and ate just about all the food in the fridge (Winry more than May, however). They had gotten invited to a 'Promotion Ceremony'; a large, organized, event, who's purpose was to announce and 'crown' the next Fuhrer. It also served as Grumman's retirement party, which wasn't surprising, considering he seemed to like to make a big deal out of relatively small matters (the fiasco at Ed and Winry's wedding was a prime example of that). While the ceremony was in Central, and would be at the tail end of Winry's eighth month of pregnancy, for whatever reason, Winry felt very determined to go, and Ed didn't want to argue with her. She thought that they should support they're old friend, and as long as they had close access to the hospital, in case the baby decided to come a month early, they would be fine. Ed was a bit happy for Armstrong, and he knew that she would probably keep the country well-organized and strong. He didn't know how well the people would react, as there where still some people who thought that she was responsible for the corruption in the senior staff (the radio broadcasters had made them battling with Bradley sound like a misunderstandment, and that they were trying to keep him from opening the gates because of the Immortal Legion, but some people didn't believe that), but Ed was sure that most of the population would react with positivity, considering that she was best known for keeping their country safe from Drachma, (which was well-known to be a powerful country. Most people knew Drachma could wipe out Amestris in seconds if they could actually make it past her and her fortress) so they would likely think of her as a protector. Besides the selection of a new Fuhrer, other good news from different people they knew had reached the Elric house. Mustang had finally proposed to Hawkeye (he was planning to earlier, but he wanted to spell out "Will you marry me" with fire, and on the day he planned this, it just so happened to rain out), and they decided to have their wedding after Winry had birth, so that the Elrics wouldn't have to miss it. Elicia had her ninth birthday, and while they weren't able to make it out to Central to attend, the present they sent her (A large mechanical horse built by Winry, that actually moved) got there in time. Gracia had sent them pictures back, and Ed knew that if Maes Hues was there to see his daughter, he definitely would be proud. Another piece of news that was slightly cute, but mostly terrifying, was that Alex Luise Armstrong found a girlfriend; a seven-foot-tall woman with curly brown hair and violet eyes named Temira Bly. And from the descriptions of her personality Ed received from his friends, she sounded just as boisterous, overwhelming, and overemotional as the man she was dating. That was probably why they where a good match. The Elrics also received a piece of good news from the Curtis residence; a businessman had offered to turn their meat shop into a chain franchise, with them as the managers, which meant that they would be able to sell more, and get more money, and still run the business on their own schedule. And even though it meant a bit more work, Izumi and Sig took the offer, deciding that it had been awhile since they had tried something new. All and all, things where going well for the Elrics and their friends, and they where sure that a bright future was in store for them.

The Elrics (and Granny) sat around the table eating a good helping of stew, and talking happily about whatever came to mind. They didn't notice, however, that May's skin was starting to pale, and she got increasingly quieter. She felt her ears buzz, and her vision blurred. The sound of her falling out of her chair swirled them into a frenzy. Al and Ed helped to move May to the couch, Granny went to get some water and a wet cloth to put on Mays head (which was rapidly becoming hotter) and Winry went to the phone to call the doctor. As Ed laid his sister-in-law down onto the couch, he started to have a sinking feeling in his stomach, that told him that this could start something bad. And he was right.

The doctor said that May had caught a virus from some food she ate before she came to Resembol, and it was well-known to affect pregnant woman more than anyone. He said he would do anything he could to save her, but he would most likely not be able to save the baby. May was fed multiple antibiotics, but most of them didn't seem to be working. Eventually, the doctor had to turn to his last resort; surgery. But if he was going to be able to remove the virus-infected cells, he would most likely have to remove the fetus as well. But they had to do it, they only had one choice. If May died, the baby would die anyways.

On the day of the surgery, Ed and Al sat outside medical room. Winry was staying home, and Granny was with her. The entire family had shed plenty of tears, even Edward, who barely ever cried about anything. Now they had to sit, and wait, knowing that something they had had just been taken away.

"She didn't do anything to deserve this" Al said, after a long time of silence.

"Neither did you, Al. Stuff like this happens" Ed replied, his voice void of the reassurance he was hoping to give.

"But why did it!?" Al suddenly shouted, standing up. He clenched his fist, his teeth gritted. "Why did we have to loose our child?! Why do we have to keep loosing thing?! We may have performed a taboo, but is this really necessary?!" Al was angry, and Ed couldn't blame him. "Why am I still being punished?! Why are they hurting May!? Why in the world must everything always have to fall apart for us!?" Tears streamed down Al's face, and he started sobbing violently and uncontrollably. "We spent so long trying to be happy again, and this happens? What did we do, Ed? What did we do to make the universe hate us this much"

Edward didn't know what to say, but he did know what to do. He stood up and pulled his brother into a hug, as Al continued to sob into Ed's chest. Ed even let his own tears fall for his brother, because in events like this, that was all he could do.

After the surgery, Al and May had a long cry together. Not only did the doctor have to remove the baby, but he also had to take out a small part of the uterus. It wouldn't affect May health wise, but it would make carrying future pregnancy's to term difficult. There was a large chance that they might never have children.

They where given the child's body. It was barely formed, small enough to fit in the palm of their hand, and looked more like a tadpole than a baby. They would burry the poor thing in the Resembol grave yard. The funeral for it was small, and it barley took more than a minute to burry it. They hadn't named the child, nor did they know if it was a boy or a girl. They gave it a headstone all the same, reading "Our Baby; 1919".

There where three onlookers to the funeral. One of them was Number 39, and she was staring at the morning family with cold grey eyes. The second was Number 98, a stalky man with brown eyes and white hair, who also posed as General Train in the military, and was a candidate to become Fuhrer (he lost the position to Armstrong, of course). The third was Number 75, who, contrary to number 98, was a skinny man with black hair. He also happened to be one of the organizations most renowned alchemist. All three of them where wearing dark blue cloaks, and all of them had they're hoods up.

"It's pitiful" said Number 39 coldly, "watching these people morn so much for something that wasn't even alive yet."

"All the same, they're morning." Said Number 98, pleased. "I think we found our new sacrifice candidate."

Soon, the Elrics went home, which left Number 39, Number 75, and Number 98 alone to do their dirty work. Number 39 stood guard, her gun in hand. She had an excellent shot, and any onlookers who witnessed what they were doing would suffer a bullet to the face. Number 75 stood by for when the alchemical work was needed, and Number 98 started digging up the grave of Van Hoenhiem.

"It would've been nicer if we could've gotten to his body when it was first buried" Number 39 muttered sourly.

"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, while you and the rest of your branch where lallygagging in Central, I was preparing the circle over in the Tang Islands" Number 75 grumbled back. "And it's not like you could've saved his body without an alchemist helping you."

Number 39 didn't respond. She honestly didn't care, either. She had her opinion on matters, and he had his. They would just leave it that way.

As soon as Number 98 found the coffin, the others helped him drag it out. The wood had rotted, but all the components of Van Hoenhiem's decaying body where still in the box. This made Number 75's job easier. He took out a pair of gloves with strange-looking transmutation circles, put them on, clapped his hands together, and touched them to Hoenhiem's body. The decaying process reversed, and he looked good as new, almost as if he was sleeping instead of dead. They stuffed the body into a sack, reburied the coffin, used alchemy to make the grass around the grave regrow, and walked off, leaving not even a single trace that they had been there.

* * *

Alphonse, May, and Granny had long since went to bed, leaving Edward and Winry to sit together on the couch.

"Is this really punishment?" Winry asked, referring to the miscarriage. "Is God really that petty, that even years after the human transmutation, and after all the pain you two have been through, he's still punishing you?"

"I think it's a bit less about punishment, and more about balance" Ed stated bluntly, his voice heavy and sad. "I've been thinking about it for a while, and it seems that for everyone we know, they're biggest tragedy hit at a moment when they where the happiest." Ed leaned his head back on the couch, and started up at the rotating ceiling fan. He had always liked looking at ceiling fans. They're spinning blades hypnotized him, and helped clear his mind. It helped him think.

"My dad, for example. He was well-respected all throughout Xerxes. People admired him for his alchemical knowledge and talent. He even had a very close friend, or at least someone he _thought_ was a friend. He had a better shot at a future he never imagined ever having, he must have been excited. But then Xerxes was destroyed, his closest friend betrayed him, and he lost everything and everyone he held dear in one night, and was trapped inside a body that constantly reminded him of his loss.

"My teacher is another example. She was as talented as an alchemist that she could ever ask to be, had a loving husband, and was about to have a child. Then the child died, and she tried human transmutation, and just like that, she could never have children again. She called us earlier to give us support. She told us it wasn't our fault, and that tragedy happens. She told us we weren't being punished, that we did nothing wrong. She didn't do anything wrong either, back then. She was just happy.

"When I think about it, you told me the Hues where like a perfect family. Boy, where you right. They made each other happy, and they made each other smile. And then when all is going well for they're family, Mr. Hues gets murdered. What kind of fair is that? What did they do to deserve it. Nothing. And that's the point. We didn't do anything wrong, Winry. We're not being punished. We just where having the happiest moment of our lives."

"Nothing last forever." Said Winry. "Not happiness, not life, not anything."

Ed thought about her statement. Then, for the first time since May's sickness, he smiled. "But that means that tragedy doesn't last forever either."

* * *

About two months later, the Elrics made the trek to Central to see the appointment ceremony of the new Fuhrer (Granny stayed home). They where still (understandably) mourning, but Winry thought that getting out of Resembol for a while might bring they're spirits up. While it didn't help completely, she wasn't wrong. While Resembol air was fresher than the air of Central, breathing different air, air that wasn't polluted with sadness, wasn't a bad change.

The ceremony was outside. It was large, but they came early, so finding seating wasn't hard. Plus, because of they're connections with the new Fuhrer, they where given front row seating. And Ed just so happened to have to sit next to Mustang.

"How's it going, Fullmetal?" Mustang said with a sigh. There was no sarcasm or charisma in his voice, just general concern. Of course there was. Mustang knew what had happened just only two months ago. He would be concerned.

"As good as ever, I guess" Ed grumbled. "How about you? Please tell me better things have happened to you than me"

"Well, I am going to get married. That's good." Mustang told him. "How about them?" He said, gesturing to Al and May, "how are they doing?"

Ed sighed. "Not the greatest. But Winry thought that going somewhere would help, so we took the effort to attend this." Ed paused. He then asked a question that had been bugging him for awhile "Are you ok that it's Armstrong up there, and not you?"

"She'll be a fine Fuhrer. And she won't be Fuhrer forever. She'll retire eventually. Then the throne will be mine!" Mustang explained.

"You sure seem confident" Ed grumbled.

"Of course I am. I will become the Fuhrer. Doesn't matter if she gets there before me. As long as I'm up there next"

At that moment, Hawkeye came from round the corner, and saw that the four Elrics where sitting next to her fiancé. She smiled and found a place next to Al and May. The three of them started chatting vigorously, and Edward was happy to say, for the first time in months, he saw his little brother, and younger sister–in–law stretch they're mouths into a lighthearted, genuine, smile.

Lieutenant Colonel Miles came marching past them, and took his place on stage, as he was being assigned as the Fuhrer's assistant. That wasn't surprising. He and Buccaneer where Armstrong's most trusted soldiers. Scar then walked past them, following Miles. His presence wasn't surprising either. Armstrong had grown to appreciate the man, as she liked his works on both the promis day, and in the rebuilding of Ishval, which, without Scar, probably wouldn't have made nearly the progress it did. It made sense that he would be invited to the ceremony, and get front row seating. However, when he stopped in front of Winry, Ed suddenly became ridged. As much as the new Fuhrer trusted Scar, Ed didn't, and he _definitely_ didn't trust him around Winry, or they're baby. But Scar still had a way of surprising Edward.

"Your pregnant." He said. It was an observation, not a question, but it didn't stop Ed from seizing the chance to insult the man.

"Yeah, duh." Ed grumbled, loud enough for Scar to hear him. Scar just ignored the younger man.

"May Ishvalla bless this baby. And all the other baby's you and your family plan to have" He said with a smile. Winry smiled back, which gave Scar a surprise of his own. He then had a short conversation with May, before finding a seat elsewhere in the front row. Before the ceremony started, a stalky man with white hair came and took his seat next to Mustang.

Mustang groaned. "Hello, General Train" He said, not an inch of pleasantries in his voice. Mustang found Train arrogant and annoying, and he would choose even Alex "passed-down-the-Armstrong-line-for-generations" Armstrong before he chose Train as the Fuhrer. But Train had come close, having been in the military for as many years as they're new Fuhrer, and had done almost as much for the country as she had. But Fuhrer Armstrong had one thing that General Train didn't have: Grumman's trust.

"No need to be bitter, Mustang." Train quipped. "We're getting a new Fuhrer, it's cause to celebrate. There's no need to be rotten to each other. Besides, I have a feeling that she will have as long a legacy as she _deserves_ to"

Mustang had stopped listening to Train at "bitter", but that didn't stop Ed from listening in. And there was something about Train that he didn't like. The last statement, about Armstrong holding position as long as she deserved, made Ed's stomach churn. Ed looked around the surrounding area, his senses on and alert.

Just as Ed was looking for danger, Old Fuhrer Grumman stepped up onto the podium.

"Hello?" He asked, making sure the microphone he was wearing on his head was working. When everyone responded with a hello back, he started on with his speech.

"As you probably already know, today, I am planning to retire. But a country needs a leader as much as bread needs butter. So today, we will be giving a warm welcome to the new Fuhrer of Amestris. Our very own, General Olivier Mira Armstrong!"

On cue, Armstrong walked briskly between the seating rows, up to the podium. Everybody stood and saluted (Winry stayed sitting, and saluted from where she was), watching as she marched up to her spot on the stage. She walked with an air of superiority and confidence, with a pleased smirk on her face. It was obvious that she was more than happy to take up this position of leadership, and that she wasn't at all nervous about leading the country. This could be a good asset. It was good having someone come in who knew what to do.

As soon as she got up on stage, Grumman took off the Fuhrer's coat and handed it to her. She put it on, and saluted the former Fuhrer.

"General Armstrong, do you accept the title of Fuhrer and all the responsibilities that come with it?" He asked her.

"Yes, I do" She replied shortly.

"And do you, General Armstrong, promis to lead this country fairly, and justly, and protect this country and its citizens at all cost?"

"I do, without a doubt," She responded.

"Then, I declare you, Fuhrer Armstrong of Amestris!" Grumman said joyously, and everyone rose to clap. Fuhrer Armstrong made her way up to the podium, and that's when Ed saw it.

A cleverly hidden sniper sat on the building above, aiming his riffle in the direction of Fuhrer Armstrong's head.

Before Ed realized what he was doing, he was on stage, and shoving Armstrong out of the way of the incoming bullet. His body fell to the floor, and blood spilled out around him.

The bullet hit him in his head.

* * *

 **CLIFFEHANGER!**

 **I'm so sorry for the sadness in this chapter! Really really sorry! I was originally planing on making this chapter longer, but I couldn't resist the cliffhanger.**

 **I'm sorry about Alphonse's baby, and about Ed getting shot in the head. Love you all though!**

 **And hey! Roy and Riza are engaged, and Armstrong has a girlfriend! #ArmBly**

 **Next chapter, we'll see the reactions to Ed getting shot, weather or not Ed lives, who was the sniper, what did Train want, and possibly the birth of Ed and Winry's child! And sorry, I said last chapter we'd be seeing Selim, but that was before I decided to make the chapter shorter than planned. But, we'll be seeing him next week! I can promis you that!**

 **Anywho, good bye for now my children! I love you and know you well!**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	4. Chapter 4: A Way of Life, part II

**I'm back! And not a moment too soon, too!**

 **Welcome to another chapter. I'm sorry for the sadness and a cliffhanger last chapter, but I'll try to make it up to you!**

 **Also, the ceiling fan in the last chapter was a reference to my best friend TheRoseAlchemist17 and her love of ceiling fans in anime's **

**I'd like to again, thank Hamsterboy3 for being my awesome critique, and giving me good tips. I'll try to correct the grammar and spelling. Also, for Winry's pregnancy, I thought I timed it well. I probably messed up with the calculations or something (I really shouldn't re-read my work when I'm half asleep) so I'll make sure to fix that. She's actually eight months at this point in the story, nearly nine. Also, sorry if things felt rushed. This is my first published story and I'm still an amateur writer, but hopefully after a few more years of English classes I'll be better. I'll also try to slow my writing down. These chapters are more introduction and background information, and I really want to get to the main plot in as few chapters as possible, so I might be rushing. I went into this thing with the notion that I could cram as much information into a chapter as possible and still keep a good pacing, but I don't think brains process that fast (I know mine doesn't). So sorry, anyways. But thanks for the constructive criticism. I am looking forward to your opinions on this chapter.**

 **This will be a rather long chapter, so prepare yourselves. But I don't think any fanfiction lover can say no to a long chapter.**

 **I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I never will. So there. I do own General Train and the assassin though, they're mine. And so is good ol' Cora McGravin, who we will be seeing again today.**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 4: A Way of Life, part II

* * *

When Oliver Armstrong had her first battle, she was 20 years old, back when she was still a wide-eyed girl with her hair cut short, giving the look of a cutesy Shirley Temple girl, contrary to the intimidating woman she would become. It was back when her Armstrong hair-curl was still a separate entity from the rest of her hair, and she was nothing more than a naive young graduate of the military academy. She was in top shape, knew her weapons, and received the highest score in her class for the both physical, phycological, and intellectual test. But none of that could prepare her for her first day of battle.

When Argo and Amestris were still having fierce border scrimmages, Armstrong was one of the people sent out to serve. When she first got onto the battle field, Argo got the first strike, resulting in a messy and terrifying battle. When she first saw the blood of her comrades and friends, she almost went into a panic. But she knew that if she panicked in the battle field, she would die. So she gave herself to the count of five to recuperate, and take deep breaths. 1... 2... 3... Too late!

Armstrong suffered a bullet to the leg. It wasn't fatal, and didn't even leave a limp. But it taught her a lesson; counting to five is too long.

The next time she went out into a battle field, the same thing happened. Aurgo got the first shot, she saw her comrades die, and nearly panicked. But this time she only allowed herself to count to three. 1... 2... 3...

And into battle she went. Amestris won that battle, and Armstrong became stronger and smarter. She would count to three before battles, and when the battles where getting rough. Counting helped. When she became a woman, she barely needed to count anymore. She eventually stopped counting all together. For eight years straight, she didn't count, her only exception was the few times on the promis day, but she didn't really count that day, as about everyone who was involved was scared for their lives. But she always remembered that day, and those three numbers, as something that would always serve her well for the future.

* * *

Edwards blood was everywhere. Pouring from his head, and staining her coat red. She sat there for a second, unsure of what was happening. An acquaintance of her's was dead. He took a bullet for her. Those where the facts. The bullet looked as if it came from the building behind her, that was another fact. A conclusion that could be drawn from those facts where that whoever shot the bullet was still there, and her life was still in danger. 1... 2... 3... and she was ready to run.

She made a jump off the stage as she heard another gun shot. She quickly ducked at the front of the stage, a place the assassin wouldn't be able to see her. She immediately went to reach for her gun, only to realize that she was already holding something in her dominant hand. It was a brown coat, which was attached to the limp body of Ed.

Why had she grabbed him? She knew he was dead. There wasn't any possible way he could've survived that bullet. Unless...

She checked his pulse to realize it was still beating. She put him down, grabbed her gun, and aimed a shot at the assassin. She then focused on the audience, as there where only two people she knew that could possibly save Ed now.

"Alphonse! May" She yelled out, only now realizing what the rest of the crowd looked like. Most where panicking, her men where already shooting at the assassin, some soldiers going into the building after him, Winry was on the ground sobbing, the rest of the Elric family trying to help her up, and probably get her away from the scene. As soon as Al and May heard Armstrong, they handed Winry to the capable hands of Riza Hawkeye (She had been trying to shoot the assassin, while Mustang had gone into the building after him), and ran over to the source of the call. Armstrong handed Ed's dying body to Al and May.

"He's still alive, but not for long. You two need to use alcehestry to stop the bleeding, then get him to a hospital. You!" She then shouted to one of her soldiers after giving the two alchehestrist they're instructions, "get him Dr. Marco! We need an alchemist with medical expertise!"

Once the instructions where given, she got up and ran into the building the assassin had hidden in. She ditched the Fuhrer's coat along the way, as it was heavy with blood, and would just slow her down.

She ran to the roof, where she saw some soldiers had already apprehended the assassin. He had slight burns on his skin, indicating the work of Mustang, and was tied up by a rope, which was held by Miles. The soldiers saluted her.

"Fuhrer Armstrong!" One of them shouted.

"At ease!" She barked, walking towards the assassin. She stood over him, and the poor man shrunk down under her glare. _God, this kid can't be older than 20._ Was her first though. _What's he doing taking on an assassination job?_

"Did you try to shoot me on your own account?" She barked. The kid shook his head. _That was easier than I though_. She mused.

"Then who hired you?" She asked, even less gently then she asked the first question. The boy just shook his head, and then started to make strange moaning sounds with his throat. _That's odd_. Armstrong though. She then noticed something in the boy's mouth, or rather, not in the boy's mouth. She pulled his jaw open to confirm her suspicions.

"He doesn't have a tongue" She stated. The rest of the soldiers looked at her oddly. "Makes sense." She said. "Hired for assassination, and then muted, so he couldn't give answers. Get him down to the questioning room, and give him a notepad and pen. He'll be writing out his answers until we get what we want"

The soldiers went to hall the boy away, Miles leading them off to the questioning room. That just left her and Mustang on the roof.

"What do you want?" She asked sharply.

"Edward." Mustang stated. "He's dead, isn't he?" he asked, a heavy tone of sadness in his voice.

"No" Stated Armstrong. "Not yet at least" Mustang seemed to perk up at this. But then he looked down again.

"What do you mean 'not yet'?" He asked, his tone demanding. On any normal circumstance, she would've given him a tongue lashing for sounding disrespectful. But right now, she would be more understanding.

"He took a bullet to the head" She stated bluntly. "The fact that he's still alive now is miraculous. We just have to hope for the best when it comes to him"

She walked over the buildings edge to see what became of the crowed. She saw an ambulance rush away from the scene, assumingly transporting Ed to a hospital. She looked to see the other Elrics, Winry still on the ground, May and Riza trying to comfort her. Al was standing off to the side, with what looked like clenched fist. When May tried to go over to him and talk to him, he immediately shook her hand off his shoulder. That was odd behavior.

"I just hope, no matter the outcome, that Alphonse is able to stay sane"

* * *

 _1...2...3... Again, 1...2...3... Again._ Oliver Mira Armstrong had fought bears, took down men twice her size with her bare hands, defended borders, took place in more battles than she could count, and yet, she couldn't pick up the phone to call Izumi and tell her the news. _1...2...3... Again._ She held the phone in her hands, trying to get herself to dial the number, but she couldn't force her fingers to do it. She hated to admit it, but she was scared. Scared of how her friend would react.

It wasn't that she was afraid Izumi would blame her for this. Izumi was a sensible woman, she would know it's not Armstrong's fault that Ed suffered a bullet to the head. Even if she did, her friend was smart, she'd come to her senses eventually. What she was afraid of, however, was that Izumi would break. She lost a baby. Then Ed and Al essentially became her children. It must've been hard for her watching all that _shit_ happen to them, and now Armstrong is going to have to call this poor woman and tell her she might lose another baby.

"If you want to, I can call them" said a voice behind her. Armstrong turned around to see her brother. While the two of them were on good terms, there was still enough sibling rivalry going on between them to sink a ship. If _he_ could muster up the courage to pick up the phone and give the Curtis's a call, then she _definitely_ could. With that though, she dialed in the number, gave her instructions to the operator, and listened as the phone rang. _Maybe they just won't pick up_ , she thought hopefully.

"Hello?" Said the familiar voice of Izumi Curtis on the other end. _Damn it!_

"Uh, Ms. Curtis" Armstrong started, _1...2...3..._ she counted. "I have some news for you. It's about Edward"

"Did he get himself in to trouble again?" She asked. _Funny how that's the first conclusion she jumps to._

"Not exactly." Armstrong explained. She carefully found her wording. "Someone attempted to assassinate me. Edward took the bullet. He got shot in the head."

Izumi didn't say anything.

"He's still alive." She explained. "He's in the hospital. We've got our best doctors trying to save him. But, he's lucky he's still alive right now. I don't know if he'll survive. I'm sorry"

"Ed's dying" Izumi said, barely above a whisper. It wasn't a question. She knew what little there was to survive a head shot. Ed would most likely die. "After everything they went through. I thought they would at least be happy" Her voice started to crack. This was what Armstrong was afraid of.

"Yeah. If the world was fair, they would be." Armstrong told her friend. "But I don't think that's the case"

"How's Al?" Izumi asked.

"I don't know." Armstrong replied honestly. "I haven't talked to him yet. But I think he's angry."

"That would make sense." Said Izumi, her voice loosing strength. Armstrong was almost sure that by now, Izumi was crying. "Do you have the assassin in custody?" She asked.

"Yeah. I was about to go question him"

"Don't let Alphonse anywhere near the assassin. I'm coming to Central. I want to talk to him."

"Ok, you should do that"

"And Olivier," She said. If anyone else had called her by her first name, she would've slapped them. But she and Izumi knew each other well enough by now that the usage of first names was common.

"Keep an eye on Al, please. I'm afraid he might do something crazy"

"What kind of crazy?"

"He lost his child, and is now about to loose his brother. If he's ever going to do anything insane, it would be now."

Armstrong understood. She would have to keep Al away from these matters. She knew he would protest, the Elric brothers always did, but it for his sanity.

"I'll keep an eye on him, promis" She didn't break her promises. "Yeah... Goodbye" And with that, she hung up the phone.

"Is she alright?" Asked the younger Armstrong. The Fuhrer had forgotten her brother was still behind her. She turned around and walked past him.

"She's as alright as she's going to be" Fuhrer Armstrong said, walking away from the phones.

* * *

With the help of Colonel Hawkeye, Al was able to get May and Winry to a decent hotel. Now he stood in the interrogation room of Central Command, the mute assassin on the other side of mirrored glass, handcuffed to the table. Two soldiers stood besides the door. Al heard the click of three sets of boots behind him, and turned to see the new Fuhrer, Major General Mustang, and Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong.

Fuhrer Armstrong stopped in front of Al, "Where is you're wife and Mrs. Elric?"

"At a hotel" Al said, his voice uncharacteristically dark. "I stayed here. I want to know what this assassin has to say for himself"

"Go home" Fuhrer Armstrong commanded. When Al turned to question her, she clarified, "Those are orders given to you directly from the Fuhrer herself, go home. Leave this case up to the soldiers. You are not allowed to interfere, or to be involved. Leave"

Al glared at her, and slowly backed away. The three newcomers walked into the interrogation cell.

"That was harsh" Mustang whispered.

"He can't be aloud to be apart of this case" Armstrong explained. "He might do something stupid, like seeking revenge."

What the three of them, or the soldiers guarding the door, didn't realize, was that Alphonse had stayed behind, hiding behind the wall, listening in to the interrogation.

"So, what we're gonna do is that I'll ask you a question, and you're going to write it down. Major General Mustang will then read you're answers out loud. Is that clear?"

Al smiled. So the answers will be said out loud. He got a lucky break. He was going to find out who got his brother killed.

"So, where you hired or did you try to shoot me at your own accord?"

After a pause for writing, Mustang read; "I was hired. I lived on the streets, never had money. This was a good job opportunity."

"So then, who hired you?" the Fuhrer asked.

Pause. "I was hired by some man. He never told me his name though."

"This is Brigadier General Armstrong, my brother. He has decent talent in portraiture. Describe what the man looks like, and he will draw it"

After a rather long pause, the only thing breaking the silence was the periodic description of a detail, they finally said a name. "General Train" Armstrong said bitterly. That was it. Al had his culprit. Now he had to decide wether or not he wanted to take him down.

* * *

Winry was inconsolable all night. She wouldn't stop crying, no matter what May and Al did to try to comfort her. Al tried his best to bight back the tears that had been threatening to fall all day. He would need to, for Winry. He would also need to talk to May about what he discovered. He knew full well that revenge was a dirty business, one that he didn't want to get into. But he had never been so angry in his life. And try as he might to burry this rising anger, he knew full well that any moment, he was going to burst. He hoped May would be able to bring him to his senses.

He sat in his bed with May, a while after Winry had gone to sleep. He knew that she would wake up any moment, probably for some pregnancy complication, but he would use the time he had to ask his wife what to do.

"I know who hired the assassin" He told her. "It was a military general named Train. I don't know that much about him, besides the fact that he was sitting close to Brother during the ceremony"

"You want to go after him, don't you?" May said sadly. Al couldn't help but smile at how well she knew him.

"I was hoping you could talk me out of it." Al told her.

"The military will probably find him. They'll catch him, I'm sure of it. You don't need to worry about that" May consoled.

"That's not what I'm afraid of. I know they'll catch him." Al explained. "But when I saw Ed's blood spill on that stage, I wanted nothing more than to do the same to the person who did that to him" Tears started to spill from Al's eyes. "Does that make me a bad person?" He asked. "I wanted to kill right then, but I can't kill. I don't want to kill. Brother would never want me to kill. But whenever I think about what happened. Whenever I think about the fact that someone nearly, and probably did, kill my brother. I get so mad I want to kill someone. But I know I shouldn't"

"It's ok to get angry, Alphonse" May told him. "It's natural, actually. Anger is just part of being human. But how you act upon that anger is what decides wether or not you're a good person"

May wrapped her husband into a hug, and for the first time that day, Al accepted it. "You don't have to seek revenge if you don't want to. And even if you do go and fight the culprit, you don't have to kill him if you don't want to. The next step is up to you."

Al nodded, mulling over her words. He was angry at this General Train for what they did to his brother, but he knew himself better than that. Revenge was not something he cares about. Or at least, it wasn't.

* * *

When he received the new's about Edward from a phone call from a military officer, Dr. Marco left for Central as quick as he possibly could, leaving no time to waste. He had brought all his alchemical tools with him, including a philosophers stone. He knew Ed's opinion about using philosophers stone's, but he had to bring one as a last resort. Besides, if he did use it, it wasn't as if Ed was ever going to find out.

When Marco rushed into the emergency surgery room in the hospital, Ed was in very bad shape. The bullet had already been taken out of his head, but he was loosing a lot of blood, even though the doctors where trying their best to keep it inside of him, and despite the IV cord pumping blood into his body in rapid amounts. There where surgery incisions that went through his skull, as the doctors tried to save his brain, but the bullet had done a number on it.

"Let me through!" Marco shouted, slipping past doctors and nurses to get to Ed's body. He took a look at the job they where currently doing. They where trying their best to keep Ed from bleeding out, but if they wanted to fix his brain, they wouldn't be able to keep most of the blood in. Not only that, but he had a fractured skull, and the multiple incisions into the skull the doctors had to make weren't helping it. All-in-all, the situation looked pretty hopeless, and it was unlikely that Ed would survive. Marco would still try his best.

Using different transmutation circles he made over the years, he tried his best to heal Ed, explaining what he was attempting to the doctors as he went along. He tried to fix Ed's brain, but the process was slow, and Ed was loosing too much blood. The doctors tried to feed him more blood through the IV cord, but they were running out of his blood type, and the situation was slowly becoming more and more desperate. Regular Alchemy was too slow; Dr. Marco had no choice but to use the philosophers stone.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but this is the only way I can save you're life" Dr. Marco whispered to him. He then shouted to the other doctors at the scene. "Don't tell the patient I used this"

He turned to Ed, and with a bright red glow, everything was healed. Now all they needed to do was wait until he woke up.

* * *

Early in the morning, Izumi and Sig Curtis had gotten off of the train at Central, and got to Central Command quicker than ever. Izumi had marched up the the Fuhrer's office, and for the most part, the soldiers let her in. Most of them knew her, and those who didn't didn't want to mess with her. As soon as she stepped into the office, she saw two people; her good friend, Olivier Armstrong, and a military general she didn't recognize.

"You're just in time," Said Fuhrer Armstrong with a smile. "I was just talking to General Train here. Apparently, if it wasn't for me, he would've become Fuhrer."

"I was next in line" General Train said matter-of-factly, but Izumi could here some hesitation in his voice. At this moment, she knew exactly why this man was in Armstrong's office; he was the culprit.

"You know," Armstrong said casually, "if that bullet actually did hit me, _you_ would've been the Fuhrer" she said to train, a malicious smirk on her face.

"Yes," said Izumi from behind Train. She wasn't planning to take this man down, but now that he was in front of her...

"It's a shame that bullet hit someone else instead. If it hadn't, the thrown would've been yours."

Nobody messed with her babies.

"We know you hired the assassin, General Train." Said Armstrong. "You're under arrest for the attempted murder of Edward Elric, and the attempted assassination of the Fuhrer"

At that moment, General Train wiped out his gun, but not before Izumi could knock the culprit out. Soon other soldiers came into the room, and dragged the unconscious body of General Train out the door. Izumi smiled. She had noticed something in Armstrong's wording.

"You said attempted murder" She said to her friend. "Does that mean...?"

"Yes" Armstrong answered. "Edwards alive. I'll take you to the hospital to see him"

* * *

When Al got the call at 3:00 in the morning that Ed was alive, he had a jump for joy, and a burst of happiness. He woke May and Winry as fast as possible, and it didn't take long for them to get to the car and drive to the hospital. All three of them had cried tears of joy on the way to the hospital, and even more once they saw Ed's stable body, breathing evenly. It was miraculous work. They made sure to thank Dr. Marco for all he had done.

About an hour after the Elrics arrived in Ed's room, Mustang and Hawkeye arrived as well. While Mustang was please Ed was fixed up so well, he had some suspicions as to how well he looked for a bullet to the head. He was sure Al had his suspicions too, but the young boy seemed to be ignoring the unlikeliness of the situation. Still, Mustang walked over to Dr. Marco and said, "I think I need to talk with you"

Once they stepped outside the halls, Mustang began his discussion. "Edward took a bullet to the head, he shouldn't be in this good of condition. I'm surprised he's alive at all"

Dr. Marco sighed. "It's very unlikely that anyone could live through the wounds Edward had. But I had a back up plan in case regular Alchemy couldn't help him"

"You used a Philosophers Stone" Mustang stated. It was as he suspected, and Marco didn't make any attempts to deny it.

"Don't tell Edward I used it. He wouldn't like it" Marco asked.

"I know he wouldn't. But Edward's smart, he'd fuigure it out eventually" Mustang informed the Alchemical doctor.

"Well, let's just hope he doesn't fuigure it out for a long time" Marco let out a breath. "I'm going to go home now. If Edward ask how he was saved, just tell him it 'with some good alchemical knowledge'"

As Marco walked off, Mustang crept back into the room, watching the happy family reunion

* * *

Around mid-afternoon, Ed woke up to a sun-filled hospital room, surrounded by familiar faces. To his left stood Izumi and Sig, and to his right was his family. His eyes where filled with what he assumed was eye group, and he was more thirsty than he had ever been in his life.

"Can... I have... some wa...ter?" He mumbled out, his voice sore and horse. As soon as he asked it, Winry pulled him into a tight, and slightly painful hug, crying large tears of joy. Soon she was joined by Al and May and Izumi and Sig. As painful as the hug was, the warmth from it made him happy.

"I'm so happy you're ok!" Al told him.

Ed smiled, and despite his dry throat and sore voice, he was able to mutter out "Me... too"

In the corner by the door frame, he could see Fuhrer Armstrong standing there, smiling.

Once his family put him down, they gave him some ice chips. Al looked almost as happy as when he got his body back, and chatted up a storm with his brother, as if he hadn't talked to him in years. Eventually, Armstrong walked up to Ed, a genuine smile on her face.

"Thank you, Edward. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead." She said, shaking his hand.

"Your welcome" he said, his voice still horse, but it didn't feel as strained. He gave the new Fuhrer a smile back. As much as the bullet to his head wasn't the greatest thing that had ever happened to him, he was glad he saved a life, and that he didn't die in the process.

Eventually, Al was able to talk to Ed in private.

"The person who shot you was an assassin hired by a guy named General Train" Al told him. "And for a moment, I wanted to kill him. I wanted to take revenge. But I didn't. And he got caught without a problem"

"That's good." Ed managed. "You stayed strong, and didn't go after that man. That's good. I'm proud of you Al"

Al smiled, and then hugged his brother. He had a feeling that things were going to get better from here.

* * *

In a nice-looking garden, Grumman and Madam Bradley sat under a gazebo drinking tea, and talking about the latest events. Selim was playing in the yard as they talked about the events. He hadn't aged a bit since the last time Grumman saw him, which was about a year ago. He still had the body and habits of a two year old, but Grumman had supposed that was to be expected of a homunculus. Grumman had told Madam Bradley about the assassination attempt of Olivier Armstrong, Edwards sacrifice, and how he had survived the shooting, and how both the assassin and the man who hired him got caught.

"Well, that's quite an event, but I'm happy that Edwards ok. If it wasn't for him, I don't think my little Selim would be here today." Once he heard his name, Selim turned and waved at his mother, giving her a large, kind smile. Madam Bradley gave one back, and then placed her tea cup back on the saucer. "Speaking of Selim, a few days ago, around the time of the new Fuhrer's promotion ceremony, Selim started crying, saying that his head hurt. I was really worried. It seemed as if he was in so much pain he was dying. But then, a few hours later, the pain just stopped. He's really been low on energy these past few days as well. It was all very sudden. I'm not sure what happened to him. Do you have any theories?"

Grumman just shook his head, saying that he didn't have a clue.

When Grumman left the mansion, he couldn't help but muse over Madam Bradley's words. It was odd how Selim felt a pain in his head. Not to mention the fact that it couldn't have been that far from the time Ed was shot. It was too strange to be a coincidence. He wasn't exactly sure how Ed beat Pride in the battle the two of them had, but he did know that he would have to bring this incident up to Ed later.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Ed was hit by the bullet, and two days since he was dispatched from the hospital. Winry was freakishly close to her baby birthing due date, but she told him not to worry, saying that Central Hospital was right around the corner, and just as good as the hospital in Resembool, if not better. Ed decided to leave it be. He didn't have much in the way of energy after the hospitalization. He spent most of his days sleeping, or at least laying down, and couldn't walk for more than twenty minutes without exhausting himself, which is why he was given a wheelchair to sit in when the Elrics where out and about, and his legs where to tired to move. He didn't think he had it in him to take a train ride somewhere just yet.

Sig was sent home so that he could watch the shop (the chain managers where building other shops in different city's throughout the South, so someone had to go home and oversee things), but Izumi decided that she would stay with the Elric's until they went back to Resembool. Her presence was helpful, since she was able to take care of most of Winry's maternity problems, leaving the rest of the Elrics to take care of Edward and the surgery side effects.

On another note, Ed, Al, and May where all having suspicions about how Ed was able to heal so well. While the recovery was a somewhat normal speed, the fact that he was alive at all, and with very little side effects considering that a bullet had pierced through his brain, the situation was all and all a suspicious one. Ed wanted to talk to Dr. Marco about it, but Al and May hadn't had much of a chance, and he left before Ed woke up. They tried calling him, but the Alchemical Doctor would never pick up.

Ed had a bad feeling in his stomach that he wasn't quite healed naturally, or at least as natural as an alchemical healing could be. But he what he suspected, he didn't quite want to believe it was used. So he would drop the matter until he had a chance to ask Dr. Marco directly, and he wasn't going to make an effort to seek him out. He would leave it to later.

Currently, he was in bed, trying to get his rare minutes of sleep. Winry had often woken up to try and go to the bathroom, and while she did her best not to disturb her sleeping husband, sometime would shift in bed too much, or make too much noise as she walked to the bathroom of their hotel room. Usually, he ended up waking up anyways, and went to help her. But tonight, things went a bit different than normal.

"Ed, wake up, please" He heard shout from the floor.

Ed rolled over in his sleep, instinctually mumbling, "five more minutes"

"Ed, not five more minutes I need you now!" She told him.

"Whatever food you want we probably don't have" Ed mumbled, shoving his face into his pillow. He didn't exactly know what was happening, but he did know that he just wanted sleep. He had barley been getting it during the past few days of hospital dispatch, and while two days of sleepless nights wouldn't normally effect him that much, the past few days had been more exhausting than ever.

"Ed it's an emergency!" She shouted.

Ed groaned in response, her words not quite registering in his brain.

"Ed, the baby's coming" She finally told him.

Ed's eyes flew open. He bolted up in bed, near panic rushing over him. Ed spotted Winry, sitting in the middle of the floor, her hand over her stomach.

"THE BABY'S COMING!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, running around the room in a panic, his vision becoming blurry.

The next thing he knew, he was hit with a cold bucket of water. He sat up to see Izumi holding a tin bucket over his head. He didn't even know where she got it.

"Stop panicking!" She snapped, her voice deadly. Ed shivered in his skin. When his teacher had that tone of voice, he knew he shouldn't mess with her. "We'll get Winry to a hospital, and the two of you will have her your baby. But if you freak out, we might get stuck birthing her here! Would you like that?!"

Ed shook his head. After that incident at the Le Colts, Ed was pretty sure he had enough odd situations when it came to baby birth.

Izumi, Ed, and Al helped take Winry out of the hotel, and into a car, which the man at the front desk willingly gave them when he heard that Winry was going to have birth. May took Ed's wheelchair with with them, just in case they needed it. (And they where pretty sure that Ed would need it)

The drive to the hospital was relatively quick, and getting her into a hospital room was just as easy. Soon the nurses where surrounding her, helping her have birth, telling her to push, etc. Ed stood by her side, holding Winry's hand, but after the fifth or sixth time he panicked, the nurses kicked him out, forcing him to wait outside with Al, May, and Izumi.

"She's going to be fine" Izumi told him. "She's had a healthy pregnancy so far, and as far as I can tell, the birth is going fine. You don't need to panic"

Ed tried to calm himself down. "Hey, brother" Said Al, who was sitting next to him. Ed turned to look his little brother in the eye.

"Plenty of bad things had happened to our family recently, but tragedy can't last forever. This is our happiness. It'll all be ok"

Ed nodded. "Thank's Al." He said. "It'll be ok"

And Ed held on to those words for the rest of the birth.

* * *

Fuhrer Armstrong had trusted the guarding of General Train to three men. Two of the men were people she didn't know, much less care about. The third of the men would be someone she trusted to get the job done. She couldn't think of someone more suited for that particular job than the man who took down Bradley.

Scar stood with two guards by his side. He had been there for hours, and what he needed more than anything right then was a large cup of something loaded with caffeine.

"Hey," he whispered to one of the guards by his side. "Do you mind grabbing me a coffee?" he asked.

"Sure" said the guard, relived to have an excuse to grab himself a coffee of his own. "You want one too?" he asked the other guard.

"Hell yeah" The other guard replied.

The one in charge of grabbing coffee's walked off. However, what the three of them didn't see was that in the corner, a young girl of sixteen, nearly seventeen, stood, leaning against the wall. Her short black hair, ghost-like skin, and crazed blue eyes marked her as Cora McGravin, her organizations assassin. She smiled, one less guard made things easier for her.

She rolled a small vile of strange liquid into the area. One of the guards noticed it.

"What's that?" He asked. Scar stood stiff and on alert, looking around for intruders. The other guard walked over to the vile, uncorked it, lifted it up to his nose, and took a sniff of it. That was a bad idea on his part, as as soon as the fumes from the liquid entered his body, he lost conscience, and fell over.

Scar started looking around frantically. He didn't like the situation he was in, and now regretted asking the other guard to go grab coffee. He slowly walked in the direction of the vile was thrown from, walking right past McGravin's hiding spot. She smiled evilly; stealth had always been a talent of hers.

She quietly stepped behind Scar, her footsteps making no sound. He seemed to sense her, but when he turned around, she quickly and quietly jumped into his blind spot. She made sure to stay in it wherever he walked.

After a few seconds of testing her stealth abilities (an activity she found quite fun), she eyed the back of his neck, where a human pressure point laid. She was much shorter than Scar was, making the spot difficult to reach, but all the same, it only took one, well-timed jump. She performed this action, slamming her hand into the back of his neck, knocking him out cold. She smiled; she had never taken out such a dangerous target before.

"You can't fight what you can't see" She whispered to him joyously, then went on to the reason she was sent here in the first place; General Train.

She picked the lock to his cage, and entered his cell, forgetting to shut the door behind her. "Hello!" She said pleasantly.

Train looked up at her, fear in his eyes. As soon the appearance of young Cora McGravin registered into his mind, he backed himself up into the corner.

"No! Not you!" He said, knowing full well what her appearance meant.

"No need to scream in fear" Said McGravin, "wouldn't you rather a dignified death?"

"Please, I can make it up–" Train tried.

"Number 98, you know full well that our organization doesn't like failures. You where our one chance to get one of us into a position of power, and you blew it. All the other one's of us in the military don't know a thing about sucking up to their superiors or working to get promotions. You where the only general, our only chance to become Fuhrer. And not only did you hire that stupid kid, who couldn't avoid an MP for his life, you also hired him yourself, instead of asking someone else to do it. Then, when you had the chance to dig yourself out of the hole you put yourself in, you go ahead and pull a gun out on the Fuhrer. How stupid could you be, Number 98?"

"Cora–"

"It's McGravin, to scum like you. Usage of my first name is reserved for the members who actually know how to get things done."

"McGravin, I know I didn't succeed in becoming Fuhrer, but you can't just kill me! People will get suspicious if you kill me!"

"You're right. But I can make it look like you had a heart attack. I may specialize in alchemy that makes things explode, but I can stop a heart with ease."

Number 98 looked around for an escape rout. He could try to muscle his way out, but McGravin was to dangerous to be near. If he killed her anyways, he would have a trigger happy Number 39 on his back. He had one option; run for the prison door which McGravin carelessly left open.

He took a bolt for it, only a small bit surprised when McGravin didn't try to stop him. She smiled as she watched him run from her. She knew exactly what this would lead to.

Number 98 ran as fast as he could. He couldn't let McGravin get him. As he ran past some guards, he heard them gossiping about how "The Elric child was being born". This was good news to Number 98. If he just got his hands on the baby; McGravin couldn't kill him if it risked spilling the rare blood of Hoenhiem.

* * *

Fuhrer Armstrong was angry when she heard the news of General Train's escape, and even angrier when she heard he was heading in the direction of the hospital. She marched down the halls, counting to three as she went. She didn't just use those numbers when she was scared, but also used them when she needed to calm down and try not to kill someone. In any normal situation, she would have more patience than the average person, but right now, she was exhausted, and wanted this whole incident with Train to end. It took all her nerves not to slap Scar in the face when she heard that someone broke Train out.

As the car drove to the hospital where Train had been rumored to go, the only thing that kept her from blowing up was the thought of a nice, long, nap at the end of all this.

She watched as Train ran into the hospital, seeing that he had somehow gotten hold of a gun. He must've stolen one when he broke out. But what Armstrong found most disturbing about the situation is that he seemed to be running like the devil was chasing him.

"Come on! Let's get this over with" She commanded to the soldiers she had brought with her as soon as she stepped out of the car. Usually during situations like these, the Fuhrer left it up to the MP's. But as much as she wanted to throw something like this on them, and stay home and take a nap, she decided to deal with it, because she honestly felt like the whole predicament with General Train was her mess to clean up.

* * *

A nurse opened the door to the hospital room, smiling at the people waiting patently for their baby (or not so patently in Ed's case).

"He's born" She said.

All three Elrics and Izumi came piling into the hospital room, trying to take a look at the baby. Izumi stood back a bit, allowing the Elrics to get to the child, but she was able to see the child from where she stood.

It was a small, plump boy, with a tuff of gold hair on his head, and even though it was small, what looked to be a formation of an antenna. He would probably look a lot like Ed someday. He wailed loudly, a sign that he was a healthy baby. Just under his lids, during the rare times that he opened them, crystal blue orbs could be seen. He was definitely a beautiful baby.

"It's a baby!" Ed cheered "It's a baby! It's a baby! It's a baby!"

"Well, what else could it be?" Winry laughed.

"Yeah, but still! We have a baby! We're parents! Isn't that awesome!" He cheered.

"I'm an uncle now!" Al said happily.

"He's so pretty!" May squealed.

"All right," Said the nurse, "you've had your moment, now can I please see the child? We need to give him a bath"

It seemed that they didn't notice the baby was covered in blood and slime until that moment. All four Elrics laughed, and Winry handed her child to the nurse.

"I'll clean him up, then give him some cloths" The nurse told them, as she began to walk out of the room.

Suddenly there was a gunshot.

Ed, Al, May, and Izumi rushed out of the hospital room, to see a terrifying sight.

The nurse's body slumped up against the wall, blood rushing from a bullet wound in her shoulder. On the other side of the wall, was General Train, holding a gun to their baby's head.

* * *

McGravin walked into the hospital. There wasn't any need to run, she knew exactly where Number 98 was going. As soon as she saw him enter the hospital, she knew he would threaten one of the Elrics life, probably the baby, since Al, May, and Ed were too good of fighters to threaten, and McGravin's organization couldn't care less about Winry now that she had birth, as she no longer hosted a life form necessary to their plans. She casually moved down the halls, watching as the new Fuhrer and other soldiers she sort of recognized ran past her. They payed her no attention, probably thinking that she was just a young girl visiting someone. They would take care of Number 98. She wouldn't have to. Still, she stood at the hallway where Number 98 held the Elric baby hostage, just in case the everyone else there failed her.

* * *

All the Elrics stood, looking at General Train, as he held a gun to their child's head.

"Train, give me my child back. Now" Ed demanded, his voice deadly.

"You can't hurt me!" He yelled, but it didn't seem like he was yelling this to anyone in the hall. "You lay a finger on me and I'll put a pullet through this brat's head!"

Ed's fist crumbled up. Izumi gave the man a deadly stare. May looked nervous, but angry. All that was expected. But then there was Alphonse.

Normally, he would look calm, calculating, maybe a bit nervous, and a slight bit angry. But the look on his face was different than usual. This time, his face was contorted into a look of pure rage and hate. While this might've been a normal face expression for his older brother, this look of hate was never before seen on the likes of Alphonse.

Al slowly pressed his hands together, looking Train directly in the eye, waiting for the perfect moment to go after him.

Soon, Fuhrer Armstrong, and other army men, rushed into the hallway, guns clicked into position. Most of the soldiers looked somewhat shocked to see that he was holding a baby hostage. The only one who kept a look of shock off her face was the Fuhrer. Her eyebrows creased and her eyes narrowed. General Train kept his eyes on her, thinking she posed the greatest threat of everyone in the room. He never once considered the fact that he cracked Alphonse Elric.

As soon as Al saw that Train's eyes where off him, he ran up to Train, Alchemical energy circling through his body. The first thing he touched was the gun, turning into something that wasn't a gun, or that could hurt the baby. He then ripped the child out of Train's hands, carefully handing the baby to Ed, then turned back to Train.

"Never mess with my family!" He yelled. Then he did something unexpected. He threw his fist right into General Train's face. He punched him so hard he broke his nose. But he didn't stop with one. He jumped on Train, and continued to beat him, tears streaming down his face.

"You will never hurt them again!" He shouted as he continued to punch Train. "You'll leave them alone! You will not hurt my brother, or my nephew, or anyone else I love! And if you're stupid enough to mess with them, I'll kill you! Got it!?"

"Alphonse stop!" Izumi yelled, grabbing one of his fist.

"Cut it out, Al!" Ed told him, grabbing the other one.

Together, the two of them pulled Al off of Train, Al struggling as it went.

"Al, you're going to beat him to death!" Izumi snapped.

"Al, stop it!" Ed yelled. "You're better than this!"

Al stopped struggling. His rapid breath started to slow down, and he started crying. May ran over to him, wrapping her hands around his neck. "You made the right decision" She whispered to him.

The rest of the soldiers started to drag Train off. Other Nurses helped the nurse that was shot to a hospital room. Other nurses finally took the baby to the washroom, to be bathed and clothed.

Ed went into the hospital room, and told Winry what happened. She was more than relived to learn that her baby was ok.

Al sat in the corner of the hospital room, May next to him, rubbing her hand on his back. Izumi stood next to him. Ed walked over to his brother.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.

"We lost our child. And then thanks to him, we almost lost you" Al explained. "Then he threatened the life of your baby. I couldn't take it anymore, watching our family get hurt. We already lost one baby. I couldn't watch us loose another. I just got so angry. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's fine" Ed told him. "If you didn't snap, I would've. Then I don't think you could've calmed me down so easily" Ed laughed.

"And you did save the baby" Izumi said. "But..."

Izumi promptly gave Al a smack on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Al shouted

"You don't act out on your anger. Take deep breaths, and count to ten. We don't need you to become Ed" Izumi lectured.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Ed snapped, slightly annoyed and slightly confused.

Moments later, the nurses walked in with a bundle of baby in blue blankets, and handed him to Winry. Excited, Ed dashed over, gaining more energy than he had in the past few days. The two of them immediately started gushing. May ran over and joined them.

Al and Izumi stood up to go see the baby. "This is what life's all about" Izumi told him. "No amount of tragedy can ruin these small moments of happiness"

"I guess you're right" Said Al. But he wasn't surprised. His teacher usually was always right. "I have a good feeling about our future"

* * *

Number 98 sat in the prison truck, praying for his life that McGravin wouldn't find a way in. Of course, he wasn't getting anything he wanted today.

The truck doors creaked open, and a white tennis shoe slammed into the prison floor. McGravin entered the truck, spinning her white fedora on her fingers.

"You know, I was hoping the soldiers would kill you, but I guess they aren't as predictable as I hoped. Damn them, am I right?" She hummed, her voice malicious.

"McGravin, please! I don't want to die!" Number 98 begged.

"Too bad. You don't have a choice" She said, slipping on a pair of gloves over her tattooed hands. These gloves had transmutation circles on them, which gave the alchemical formula for stopping a persons heart. She pressed her hands together, walked over to Train, and, before he could run, pressed her hands to his chest.

He fell to his knees, gasping for breath as the heart attack took it's tole. McGravin smirked, hopped out of the prison truck, and sneaked away, not a single person noticing her.

Fuhrer Armstrong soon walked towards the truck moments later, surprised to see it open. She clicked her gun, ran to the truck, and checked inside, to see a fortunate yet troubling sight all the same. A sight destined to open up a whole new can of worms she was sure she would rather stayed closed.

General Trains dead body, laying inside the truck.

* * *

"So, what should we name him?" Asked Winry.

"You could name him after one of your fathers" suggested May

"We can't name our son 'Van' that sounds to weird!" Ed told her.

"Granny also warned us against naming him Yuri" Said Winry. "She said it might bring on a punk faze"

"We should save that name until we know what we can handle" Laughed Ed.

"You could name him after Mr. Hues" Said Al.

"That's a nice idea" Winry said with a smile.

Ed thought about it for a second. He would like to name their kid after his deceased friend. But then a thought occurred to him.

"I don't think so. At some point, Mustang's gonna have a son, and he's probably gonna wanna name his kid after his friend." Ed explained. "He has more of a right to the name than we do"

"I don't think that's how names work" Izumi told them.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't want Mustang giving me a hard time. I already have him on my back for enough things" Ed defended.

"Fine, we'll think of something else to name him" Winry laughed.

The five people thought of names, every so often throwing out a name that they liked.

"I always wanted to name a boy Rin" May said.

"I did like the name Sam" Said Izumi.

"For a while I wished my name was Jonathan" Al said.

"We can always name him after his father" Ed tried.

"For the last time, we're not naming him Edward Elric Jr." Winry said exasperated.

"I do like Mathew" Said Al.

"How about Millicent?" Suggested May.

"Definitely not" Winry said sternly.

"I do think Marcus is a cool name" Said Izumi.

Ed mused all the suggested names over, until a thought occurred to him. "Alexander" He said out loud.

"You mean after the dog?" Al asked, slightly confused.

"What? We liked that dog!" Ed defended.

"I think it's a great name" Winry said with a smile.

"See! Winry agree's with me!" Ed pointed out. "And both husband and wife like the kids name, so therefore it sticks!"

"I guess it's a nice name" Al said.

"Well, I like it." Izumi said with a smile.

"Of course you do! It's a great name!" Ed said proudly.

"It's not too bad" Said May.

"'Not too bad'?" Ed repeated, "Give it more than that! The names amazing!"

"Alright!" Said Winry, shutting them all up. "Alexander it is"

* * *

"So, someone attacked you from behind" Fuhrer Armstrong said, talking to Scar, and inspecting the scene in the prison.

"Whoever attacked me felt short. I think they needed to jump before knocking me out." Scar explained.

"So the attacker was likely shorter than you, and apparently skilled in chemical makeup" She said, holding the vile of strange liquid. She suspected chloroform, mixed with something else, something potent.

There wasn't much to go off of. The prison door locks where picked, and there where some finger prints on the cage, which matched the prints they found on the open door of the prison truck which Trains dead body was found in, leading her to think it was the same person. The finger prints, however, had no match with anyone in the data base, leading her to think that whoever the culprit was was off the record books. This was getting more complicated than she would like it to be.

"General Train died of a heart attack?" Scar asked.

"It seems so," Said Armstrong. "But it's possible that there was some alchemical interference with cardiac muscles, which might have caused the heart attack. I don't think the person who broke him out of prison intended to break him out. I think, whoever did this, was trying to kill him"

"Is that good or bad?" Asked Scar.

"That's to be seen" Armstrong told him. "But we can't let this go. Whoever killed Train might know him."

"So your attempted assassination might not have been the plans of one person, but a whole organization" Scar finished for her.

"This might be bigger than we thought"

* * *

First the baby received a visit from Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye.

"It's adorable!" Mustang said happily. "It must've taken after Winry!"

"What's that supposed to mean!" Ed snapped.

"It means he's too adorable to be _your_ kid." Mustang clarified. "Are you sure he's Edward's?" Mustang then asked Winry.

"Positive" The both said at the same time.

"Sir, stop teasing them. Let them take a moment to be happy" Hawkeye commanded. Mustang looked slightly disappointed, but listened to her all the same.

Hawkeye looked at the child. "What did you name him?" She asked.

"Alexander" Winry said proudly. Ed felt a swell of happiness at the sound of pride in her voice. It wasn't often that people liked his decisions. And as it was his wife who was happy about it, it made him feel that much happier.

"I like it" Hawkeye said.

"He'll get an honer seat at our wedding!" Mustang cheered. Hawkeye's face turned red. It seemed she wasn't used to admitting to their new relationship out loud.

"When is the wedding anyways?" Asked Winry.

"In a few months." Mustang said happily. "And I came to yours, Fullmetal, so I expect you to come to mine!"

"That's not how it works" Ed mumbled, but all the same, he was more happy for the invite then he would admit.

The next visiter was the Fuhrer herself, but that wasn't surprising. Ed had been seeing her allot over the past few weeks.

"So, this is the munchkin?" She said. Her eye's looked giddy, though it was hidden well behind her usual stoic face expression. If Ed didn't know better, he would she had a soft spot for babies. But then again, who didn't.

"Yep! He's our munchkin!" Ed cheered. "We named him Alexander!"

At this, Armstrong started to laugh. Ed and Winry looked at her awkwardly. "What's so funny about it?" Ed asked.

"I think my brother is going to find the name quite enjoyable" She said mischievously, and evil smile on her face. Ed and Winry looked at each other, and then looked at her, scared of finding out what she meant.

The next visiter for the day was Alex Luise Armstrong, and he brought his girlfriend, Temira Bly, along with him. She was pretty, but monstrously tall, and wore heals to boot. She was much like her crazy boyfriend; over-baring, over-emotional, had a large ego, and was a slight lunatic. They both gave Ed monstrously large, and bone breaking hugs (Temira was extremely strong) upon hearing about the successful birth of Ed and Winry's baby boy, and then wen't to gush over the baby.

"He is the most adorable thing I've ever seen!" Temira cheered flamboyantly.

"I've never seen such a magnificent baby!" Armstrong cheered. "Please, you must tell us his name!"

"Well, his name is Alex—" But before Ed could finish saying the rest of his sons name, Alex Luise Armstrong lifted the baby up, going into hyper mode.

"YOU NAMED YOU'RE CHILD AFTER ME!" He cheered loudly. Spinning the baby in the air. "DO NOT WORRY! I WILL TAKE THIS BABY UNDER MY WING, AND DO ANYTHING IN MY POWER TO MAKE SURE HE LIVES UP TO THE MAN HE WAS NAMED AFTER!"

"GIVE ME MY CHILD BACK!" Ed yelled. "AND HIS NAME ISN'T ALEX, IT'S _ALEXANDER_!" Ed added.

"No need to deny it! There is no shame in naming this child after a perfect physical specimen such as myself!"

"I DID _NOT_ NAME HIM AFTER YOU!" Ed shouted, even louder this time. "AND GIVE ME MY KID BACK"

"Ah, yes! Young Alex, you will be the greatest man to walk the Earth! I shall make sure of it!"

"How about we give the kid a nickname?" Winry whispered to Ed.

"As long is we don't call him 'Alex'" Ed agreed

"How about 'Andy'" Said Winry.

Ed nodded, walked up to Armstrong, swiped the baby away from him, and handed little Alexander back to his wife. "Three things" He said to Armstrong and Temira, who turned in to listen to him.

"First of all, never touch my kid again! You nearly dropped him several times!" Ed shouted.

"I thought he was extra carful with him" Temira mumbled.

"Second of all, my kid's name is _Alexander_ , not _Alex_ "

"No need to—" Armstrong tried to say, but Ed interrupted him before he could finish.

"And third of all, we will be nicknaming him _Andy_!" Ed snapped. That put an end to the discussion.

Eventually, Armstrong and Temira left, and Al walked in with a tray of food for the both of them.

"Thank God!" Ed shouted as soon as he saw his brother, "Someone sane!"

"Did Armstrong and Temira go crazy?" Asked Al.

"Armstrong thinks we named Andy after _him_!"

"That's not good!" Al laughed. He then realized what Ed called his son. "Andy?" He questioned.

"It's Alexander's new nickname!" Ed said proudly. "And if we ever get stuck with _that_ lunatic" He explained, referring to Armstrong, "Then we'll be calling him Andy"

Al just laughed. The people they knew where crazy. He knew that Andy was in for a rough ride.

* * *

 _Four months later..._

Ed and Al sat at their own table off to the side, enjoying the reception for Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye's wedding. The family was now known as the Hawkeye–Mustang's, and hopefully, happily ever after would they live. Winry and May were off talking to whoever, and Gracia and Elicia were currently watching over Andy. This left Ed and Al to sit off to the side, and talk on their own.

"I like wedding's" Al said. "They make me feel like there's gonna be a bright future."

"I feel you. But I don't really like the large number of people that somehow find their way to these thing" Ed grumbled.

"Come on, Ed! Don't turn a wedding into something negative!"

"I'm serious! Half these people here I'm sure weren't actually invited!"

"Well, Mustang does have a large family"

The two sat in silence for a few more minuets, before Ed posed a question to Al that had been nagging on him since the miscarriage. "Al?"

"Yeah brother?"

"Are you and May thinking of trying to have a child?" Ed asked.

Al didn't say anything for a few moments. "I don't know. I want to have one, but the doctor said we might never have any kids"

"But that doesn't mean you can't try" Ed told him.

"Yeah" Al said. "I want to try, I think. It'd be amazing if we could have our own little munchkin, just like you. And I know May thinks so too. It might not be easy. We might have a lot of miscarriages, and go through a lot of pain, but if we get our child, that little bundle of happiness will all be worth it, right?"

"Definitely" Ed agreed. "No amount of sadness can take away from it. Now come on, lets go enjoy ourselves!"

Ed and Al found their wives, and then started to dance. Al and May lead a fast and energized dance, while Winry and Ed took it slow, Ed still affected by the bullet to the head, Winry still exhausted from birth, and both tired from long nights of continuous restless sleeping on Andy's part. But they still enjoyed themselves.

Eventually, Ed somehow found himself next to Grumman.

"Edward!" He said joyously. "I've been meaning to talk to you for a while, now. Can we find a table?"

"Uh, sure" Ed said, he turned to Winry, "be right back!" He said, and then he followed Grumman to a table.

The two sat down.

"I'm sure you want to go back out onto the dance floor with you're wife, so I'll make this brief. You somehow took down the Homunculus, Pride. How did you do it?" Grumman asked.

"Um, it's complicated." Ed told him. "I made a discovery about souls. Turns out you can use them like a philosopher's stone. A weak on at that, but it can be used"

"Oh?" Said Grumman.

"Yeah. I was able to invade Pride's mind by turning my soul into a Philosopher's Stone" Ed explained.

"That makes sense" Grumman mumbled. "Edward, on the day you got shot, at around the same time, Selim was saying something about a monstrous pain in his head. It continued until the next night, around the time you where healed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Selim was feeling the same pain you where"

Ed stared at Grumman with wide eyes. "How is that possible?" He asked.

"I don't know. But after hearing how you defeated Pride, it gives me one theory; you left a small part of your soul in Selim's body" Grumman theorized.

Ed gave him the same surprised look. But then he took a second to think about it. "Makes sense, actually." Ed mused. "Do you think it will effect anything?"

"Obviously, Selim feel's the same pain you do. But other than that, no. I'm not sure how this will effect anything"

The two men continued to talk, before eventually leaving the table, and going back to their own celebrations. But, little did they know, someone sat at a table not far from there's, listening in to their conversations. To the average onlooker, she was an average seventeen year old girl, looking innocent in her short, strapless white party dress, white elbow–length gloves, and white heals. She wasn't even wearing her usual white fedora. Her black, short hair, and crazed blue eyes would be unrecognizable to most, but to a small few, she was assassin and stealth mistress, Cora McGravin.

McGravin smiled. _So, Pride is still alive. This will make thing's much easier for us. Now, there's only one thing left for us to think about. How the hell are we going to trick the gate?_

* * *

 _Four Years Later..._

Three years after Andy was born, Winry had birth to her's and Ed's second child, a girl, who they named Trisha Elric. She was beautiful, with platinum blonde hair, and big, golden eyes. She looked just like her mother, except for the eyes of her dad. The opposite of her big brother, Andy, who was the spitting image of Ed, except for Winry's eyes.

During the time, however, Al and May suffered a total of four miscarriages. But this pregnancy was different. The two of them were careful, not knowing wether or not their baby would live long enough to be born, but the hoped and prayed that it would.

And it did.

May currently sat in a hospital bed, screaming for her life, and nearly breaking Al's hand, which she held onto with a death grip. She pushed as hard as she could, the two both hoping and praying that the baby would come out alright. And after thirty-two grueling hours of pushing and shoving, the baby finally came out.

May and Al cheered as they looked at their little raven-haired, golden-eyed, half Xingese girl. She was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. And all the sadness from all of the miscarriages that they had over the years, it all seemed to fade. They would carry it with them, but right now, they just felt the joy of seeing their first child for the first time.

And they were happy.

* * *

 **DONE! And just in time too! I almost missed the deadline!**

 **So long chapter. Lot's of information. Lot's of things going on. I hope it didn't feel too rushed. It is a lot of writing. But I wasn't exactly sure when to break it up, plus I want to get to the main plot, which I'm only two chapters away from.**

 **So, YAY! We got an Elric kid! Little Alexander Elric! Or Andy!**

 **I was debating what to name him for a while. I was thinking of not naming him after someone, but I scrapped that idea pretty early. I was also thinking of naming him after Hoenhiem, but 'Van' is literally the weirdest first name for a kid ever. And I know it sounded kinda dignified for old Hoho, but I didn't like it for the baby. Then two other names popped into my head for options; Yuri and Alexander. I was strongly considering Yuri, but I couldn't resist the scene where Armstrong thinks that Ed named the kid after him. So Alexander it was! I do want to name another kid Yuri, so I'm probably gonna have a third Elric kid. And hey! Al and May finally had their baby!**

 **So I hope this chapter was enjoyable. Allot of things happened. But next chapter, we'll be having a time skip. Twelve years actually! But, Andy and Trisha will be having some misadventures. And some messiness. The chapter after that, Izumi is gonna take on another set of apprentices! Then, after those two chapters, the background information will be over and done with, and we'll the main plot will be kicked into action!**

 **So, anywho. I look forward to seeing you later! Goodbye!**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	5. Chapter 5: Lighting the Match

**MotherUniverse here again, with chapter five of the Fullmetal Alchemist: Afterstory!**

 **I am sooooo sorry it's late, but I was in a place with no wifi and my phone data hotspot had run out, so I couldn't write for a long time. I'm sorry! I'll try my best to update on the due date next chapter.**

 **Now, I forgot to say last chapter, but if I was wrong about the eyes for Ed's first two kids, I will not correct it. I'm not exactly sure what color their eyes where, (the only reference was the picture at the end of Brotherhood. In the pic, Andy had his eyes closed, and Trisha's eye color was hard to make out. It was a dark color, and might've been purple, but whatever) so I made something up. And I'm not going to go back and change the eye color. I'm keeping it the way it is. So there!**

 **There was actually a lot I was planning to say the last chapter, but I had my brothers behind me while I was writing, constantly whispering "publish it!" into my ear, so I eventually gave up on the authors note. I don't know how many people read authors notes anyways, but I just kinda like writing them.**

 **I would like to thank those who reviewed. Hamsterboy3** **, you're reviews will always be loved an appreciated by me. I am glad you liked my character development for Armstrong. I always felt her story wasn't covered enough in Brotherhood. And I'm sorry I made you're job harder than it needed to be. I'll try to avoid writing long chapters, because not only do they take forever to write, but they also can be confusing for the viewer. But I can't make any promises. I have a habit of rushing through background information, because I get really excited about jumping into the main plot.**

 **As for Alex Armstrong being a Brigadier General, I'd think he'd be promoted by then, considering that he hadn't been promoted past Major since Ishval. Maybe I should've just left it at Colonel though.**

 **I would also like to thank my best friend TheRoseAlchemist17, for finally reviewing my story. You are a good friend. I am glad you liked my writing, and I'm also glad you laughed at the parts I intended to be funny. I hope you leave more reviews, because it'd be nice to know the opinions of the person who actually introduced me to this show in the first place. **

**As always, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, will never own it, blah, blah, blah, etc. I think we got the message. And I'm pretty sure nobody here writing fanfiction actually does own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

 **And without further ado, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Lighting the Match

* * *

12-year-old Alexander Elric hopped off the train, excited to finally be back in Resembool. He hadn't been home for three months, not since he went off for Alchemy training.

Andy had a goal to learn all forms of Alchemy he could learn. He had started learning when he was four, and learned basic Alchemy and basic Alkehestry under the the training of Al and May during that time. He was about six when he mastered all the basics he could, and went off to start learning more forms and techniques of Alchemy. For awhile, Ed would go with him to his desired locations, but that stopped around the time he was nine. By then, he had learned from many state alchemist and other alchemical masters around Amestris. Once he started going off on his own, he found it slightly harder to gain apprenticeships from some people, but all the same, he was able to learn multiple types and styles of alchemy.

Recently, Andy had traveled to the Armstrong mansion in hopes of learning Strong Arm Alchemy. He wasn't exactly looking forward to this step in the learning curve, but as it was a famous form of alchemy, Andy had told himself that he would have to learn it.

After the eldest Armstrong became Fuhrer, she gave her mansion to whichever one of her family members wanted it. She didn't need it anyways, seeing as she now had the Fuhrer's mansion as her home (Mustang was surprisingly disappointed when she revoked the ownership from him). Alex Louise Armstrong took claim of the mansion, where he and Temira eventually started a family.

Andy learned the alchemy along side of the Armstrong twins, Maximus Bartholomew Armstrong and Amethyst Cashmere Armstrong. They where a few years younger than Andy, around a year older than his youngest brother, Yuri. Maximus and Amethyst where, unsurprisingly, better at that certain alchemical method than he was, but at least they didn't rub it in his face. Andy also learned that he would never want to be apart of the overbearing Armstrong family. Both the parents where crazy. Maximus, who looked like his father, with the blue eyes and the blond, Armstrong hair curl, was just like his parents; flamboyant, overemotional, too strong to be natural, and a bit _too_ manly. Amethyst on the other hand, was more like her Auntie Fuhrer, tough, hard, and had a glare that could kill about a hundred homunculi if glares could kill. While she had the classic Armstrong hair curl, she also had her mother's brown hair and violet eyes, and unlike most Armstrong's, her hair was stick straight, making her hair curl look more like an Elric hair entente. While Andy genially liked the twins, Maximus was too crazy, and the witty Amethyst liked to argue with him, and she usually won, making him feel defeated.

In other words, he was glad to be back home, where his brother doesn't feel it necessary to give him bone-crushing hugs for bad reasons, and where he could actually _win_ an argument with his moxy sister. His mom and dad weren't annoying as hell either.

The walk from the train station to his home didn't take that long. While walking home, he took some time to go visit Granny at the graveyard.

His Grandma Pinako had died peacefully in her sleep when he was five years old. She had lived surprisingly long, and even though he expected it, he was still sad to see her go. His little sister, Trisha, or Tris, as she liked to be called, was only two at the time, and didn't really understand what was going on. Yuri hadn't even been born yet, so out of his siblings, he was the closest to her. After giving her a visit, he continued on to his house.

The Elric house, or the former Rockbell house, was probably the greatest house he was ever going to be in. While it wasn't as spacious as the Armstrong mansion, or did it have a view of the ocean, or did it smell like cinnamon, like some of the other homes he had studied in, it was a decent size, had a beautiful view of the country side, smelled like oil and apples, and was all and all, a beautiful house. It also held warmth really well, and had a good heating system.

Andy walked up to the door of his house and gave it a knock. His mom opened the door.

"Andy!" Winry cheered, seeing her son for the first time in months.

"Hey mom!" Andy said excitedly, and went to give her a hug. Contrary to most of the boys his age he met, he actually enjoyed being hugged by his mother.

"Was that Andy I heard?" Asked the chipper voice of a 9-year-old Tris.

Tris, much to her dismay, was currently the shortest in the family, despite the fact that her little brother, Yuri, was two years younger than her. She had her mothers face, save her gold eyes. She had grown her hair long, keeping it down, and it hung down to her waist. Andy had considered growing his hair long, but it got itchy, so he kept his hair short, in a messy boy's cut. He wasn't sure how his sister handled all her hair.

"Hey! It's Trisha!" Andy said, walking over and giving her a pat on the head. She chased away her brothers hand, shouting, "First, it's Tris, second, don't touch my hair!"

"Sheesh, I was just giving you love!" Andy said in defense, even though he did it just to annoy her.

When Trisha was around seven, she decided that the name "Trisha" sounded like the name of an old mother. She had said, "Until I become one, I'll be going by Tris". Andy didn't understand it, but he had a theory she just wanted an excuse to use a nickname, like him. As for her hair, when she was in Kindergarten, she had contracted lice, so Winry had to cut of all of Trisha's hair. The girl had been really protective of her yellow locks ever since.

"ANDY!" Came the sudden shout of little, 7-year-old, Yuri. Despite warnings against the name, Ed and Winry decided to risk a punk faze, determining that after Andy's terrible 2's, they could handle anything. Yuri was the only member of the family that wasn't blond, sporting chestnut brown hair, and green eyes, like Ed's mother. His hair was slicked back, with a few flyways popping up every so often around his hairline. Yuri wanted to grow his hair out, but Winry said he wasn't allowed to do it until he was 10.

"Andy! Guess what!?" Yuri shouted excitedly. "I made my first ARM!"

"Awesome! Let me see it!" Andy said, smiling at his little brother.

Yuri ran upstairs to hunt down his creation. Like his mother, Yuri had taken up a love for automail, and any other sorts of auto-mechanics. Andy didn't know a thing about automail, and couldn't pick it up for his life, but at least he had his talent in alchemy, which was really the only thing that kept him in competition with his brother. Tris, however, was a whole other story.

A shiny, grey arm was raised in front of Andy for him to see. It was thin and small, around the size of Tris's arm, and only came up a few inches past the elbow. "I used the metal from Uncle Al's old armor!" He said cheerily. "It's this piece right here!" He said, pointing to a plating next to the hand.

When Al got his body back, he had is armor melted down, and turned into metal for automail. That way, the thing that hosted his soul for so long can go on and do a service for other people, and become part of other people's limbs. Yuri was quite proud to use a piece of his Uncle's body in his automail.

"Well, look who's back" Said the loud voice of his dad. Andy turned to see Ed, who, in his opinion, was quite possibly the greatest man he ever met. He walked over and gave his son a hug, and a pat on the head "So, how did the Armstrong's treat you?"

"They are _insane_!" Andy exclaimed. "Three of them you can't get to leave you alone, and Amethyst is mean as hell!" Andy told his dad. A few years ago, his mom would've given him a smack on the head for swearing, but his example was Ed, so she seemed to give up on keeping her kid's language pure.

"She can't be that bad!" Yuri defended, his cheeks turning pink.

"Little brother, I know you have a crush on her, but she's a hopeless case, and she'd probably kick your ass before even looking at you" Andy warned him.

"I do not have a crush on her!" Yuri shouted, turning even more red. "And who are you to talk? When you get near Lizzy you can't stop staring at her!"

"Shut up!" Andy snapped, turning red. "She's not that great!"

"On the bright side, Amethyst is younger than you" Ed told Andy. "That means you don't have to fear her as much as Fuhrer Armstrong"

"Well, if Amethyst takes anything after her aunt, and I say she does, she'll probably become Fuhrer some day, and then I'll be in trouble" Andy argued.

"They're not that bad!" Winry said. "Besides, the Alchemy you learned is probably pretty cool"

Andy just rolled his eyes at his mother. She hadn't lived with the Armstrong's for two months, she couldn't talk.

"Hey Andy," said Tris, getting her brother's attention "Do you think there's anything about Armstrong Alchemy that could help me complete my equation?"

"I was hoping you would say that!" Andy cheered. Tris ran and grabbed a few scrolls, and the two kids went outside.

Andy found it curious how Tris had taken after no parent of their's in particular. While he himself had taken after his dad, including his love for alchemy, and Yuri was more of his mother, with his love for automail engineering, Tris had taken after both parents, and somehow found a way to combined the two passions; Automail made from Alchemy.

Using Alchemy to create Automail made it easier to collect parts. If she needed a screw or a wire or an outer shell, Tris could make it instantly using alchemy, which took out the welding process. This made construction of the limbs faster. She had the basis of an alchemical equation that would put the entire limb together just by laying the pieces down in the circle center, but that project she had put to the wayside, ignoring it for her masterpiece that Andy had been helping her with; An equation that would instantly attach the automail to the limb, without people having to endure the pain of an automail surgery.

In theory, the initial attachment would be excruciating, but it would get the surgery done in less than an hour, instead of the average of ten days. The patient would be able to be sedated or placed unconscious, and wouldn't even remember the surgery once performed. The recovery would be a normal process; not even alchemy could speed it up, but if Tris's equation was completed, it would help a lot of people.

Tris and Andy sat down in the corner in front of their houses front porch. Tris laid out all her scrolls with all her possible theories. Andy took a thorough at each one of them. Finally, he settled on an equation he liked.

"This one" he said.

"Yeah, Dad liked that one too." Said Tris. "But I do want to show it to Uncle Al and Aunt May before I use it."

Andy recognized symbols regarding healing processes, alcehestry, and correct pathways for nerves and wires to attach. It was a complicated circle, that made Andy question why most people thought that _he_ was the alchemical genius of the family.

"Mom helped a bit with the equation as well. She said that I still need to connect the port to the bone. I don't know what equation I should write that would do so." Tris explained.

Andy drew out the transmutation circle used for Strong Arm Alchemy on a piece of scrap paper. "This certain alchemy might help. It's artistic. It's mean't to create smooth, detailed creations. It might help sear the metal to the bone, and the flesh."

Andy pointed to a certain symbol in the transmutation circle. "I'd suggest putting this" he then pointed to a spot in her circle, "right here"

"Hmmm..." Tris mused. "Oh, I see. That's good. That would work. Now I'll show Al and May when they come. It should be good."

"So, how's the equation turning out?" Came the voice of their father from behind them.

"It's going good, dad!" Tris said happily. "I'm almost done! I'll check with Al and May, but I think that there's something missing." Tris smiled. "I can't believe it! After three years of putting it together"

"It'll be a major Alchemical breakthrough. Think about it! So many more people would be studying alchemy if this dream becomes a reality. It be cool to see that boring Rush Vally be filled with Alchemist!"

"Rush Vally's not boring. It's just waiting for something new!" Tris declared.

"Crazy Gearhead" Muttered Andy.

"Hey, I'm not as much of a Gearhead as Yuri, and you know it" Tris defended.

"Yeah, your an Alchemy Freak _and_ a Gearhead" teased her dad.

"If I'm an Alchemy Freak, then you, dad, are _definitely_ an Alchemy Freak" Tris tossed back.

"LUNCH!" Came the call of Winry from inside the house. The three Alchemy Freak's cheered, Tris gathering up all her scrolls, as the rushed in to have a bowl of delicious hot stew.

* * *

"UNCLE ALPHONSE!" All of Ed's children simultaneously cheered as they saw their beloved uncle enter through the door. May came in after her husband, tailed by their 8-year-old daughter, Nina.

Nina was the only child that Al and May had been able to conceive. They're previous attempts at pregnancy's had ended in miscarriages thanks to a health defect in May's uterus. It was a miracle that they where able to have Nina at all.

The girl was pretty; a combination of black hair which she wore in two braids that she placed in front of her shoulders, and gold eyes made her appearance unforgettable.

Tris and Nina where best friends, which caused a problem for Andy and Yuri when they played games, as Nina and Tris tended to gang up on them, and Andy tended not to make alliances during games.

While the kids where off playing a vicious game of hide-and-go-seek, the adults sat in the kitchen making small talk.

"How's Xing been treating you?" Ed asked. The family had made back-and-forth trips to Xing often, and where very aware of the current conditions there.

"Could be better" Al explained. "Some of the clans are pissed at Ling for not marrying woman their areas. He refused to marry anyone _but_ Lan Fan, and even though he made that declaration twelve years ago, there is still some tension. Not to mention that there are _still_ some clans that are having a hard time uniting with the rest of Xing. But Ling's doing his best, and he has Lan Fan, Bei, Rin, and Fu to help him out."

When Ling became emperor, his first declaration was that the clans would no longer be separate entity's, and that there would no longer be war's between them. He did his best to limit the competition, including the repelling of the fifty wives system (that and he _really_ wanted to marry Lan Fan). But there were still problems. But the royal family did their best. Ling had Lan Fan's bravery, Bei's charisma, Rin's intelligence, and Fu's stubbornness to back him up.

"I guess that means that they won't be coming over for dinner anytime soon" Winry said with a laugh.

"Sorry. I know you really wanted to meet Fu. Not to mention that you two haven't seen Bei since she was six, and Rin since she was four." May apologized.

"And the Yao family still need's to meet Yuri." Ed added. "I can't believe I'm actually missing that crazy beanpole freak!"

"Don't let Lan Fan here you say that" Al said.

"I'm guessing she's still paranoid as ever" Winry laughed.

"On the bright side, Ling thinks that he might get things settled enough to take a trip to Amestris in a few months. About time too!"

"You mean Uncle Ling can come and visit us soon?" Asked a curious voice as it peeked into the kitchen. The others turned to see Tris, the speaker, and the other kids listening in. _They must have stopped their game._ Ed thought. Ling wasn't technically their uncle, but as he was May's half-brother, it meant they where related. Plus, Tris liked Ling.

"Great." Mumbled Andy. "Now he can come and rub his hight in our faces"

"Why are you complaining? Ling's so tall it's terrifying." Tris argued.

"I don't like people who are taller than me!" Andy explained.

"I guess you don't like a lot of people then" Tris teased.

"Are you saying I'm small, you little runt!" Andy snapped.

"I'm not a runt, you half-pint, micro-ant!" Tris snapped back.

"If _I'm_ a micro ant, then _you're_ smaller than a flea!"

"Oxygen atoms are taller than you!"

"Hydrogen atoms are taller than _you_!"

"They argue like you and Granny used to" Winry whispered to Ed.

Yuri crept up to his parents, ashamed of his older sibling's behavior. "Can we disown them?" he asked.

"You're both short! You don't need to fight about it!" Nina shouted at the arguing siblings, trying to break it up.

"We're not short!" They both simultaneously snapped at the girl.

* * *

After a decent lunch of hot stew, Tris took Al and May to the side to look at her transmutation equation. Andy and Ed followed them into the living room as well.

"I think this theory has the most potential" Al said after ten minutes of looking at every one of her circles, choosing the one that both Ed and Andy had favored.

"Dad and Big Brother liked that one" Tris said. "I'll probably go with it. There's only one thing missing as far as I know. Got any idea what I need?"

"Hmm" Al paused for a second. He then turned to his brother, who seemed to, as usual, be thinking the same thing Al was. "Do you think...?"

"It would certainly help with the final attachment. She already mapped out the rout." Ed mused.

"And with the pinpoint accuracy, it could cauterize the nerves to the wires, and the metal to the flesh" Al pondered.

"And Andy did want to learn how to do it anyways..." Ed sighed. "I don't like asking him favors"

"Not even for Tris?" Al said in a sing-song voice.

"Fine. I'll do it for Tris" Ed groaned.

"What are you guys talking about?" Andy questioned.

Ed let out a loud, dramatic, groan. "The missing link that Tris needs for her equation" Ed paused, groaned some more, and then finally spoke. "It lies within Flame Alchemy"

"So you'll finally try to convince Mustang to teach me flame alchemy?" Andy poked.

"Fine. I'll ask Mustang if he could do it for you two."

"We're going to Central!" Tris cheered. "And you can finally see Lizzy" She added mischievously.

Andy turned red. "Shut up, pipsqueak!"

"Don't call me short!"

* * *

"No" Winry said. "You are not going to Central alone"

"But I won't be alone! Andy's coming with me!" Tris argued.

"I don't trust Andy to look after you!" Winry argued.

"Hey!" Andy yelled from the corner, clearly offended. "I'm responsible enough to take care of one little small-bean"

"I'm not a small-bean!" Tris snapped at her brother. Turning to her mother, she than said, "Why can't you let me go to Central! Andy was my age when he went traveling around by himself for the first time!"

"But he wasn't going to such a big city! Besides, he know's what 'stranger danger' means!" Winry explained.

"So I'm social!" Tris argued. "I thought you liked that I wasn't as anti-social as Andy was"

"I'm not anti-social, I just think that most people are a bunch of idiots!" Andy defended.

"That doesn't help you're cause!" Tris yelled back.

"I think she'd be fine" Ed said.

"You're not helping!" Winry snapped at her husband, making a mental note to give him a smack on the head later.

"Come on, Mom!" Tris begged. "It's not like I'm gonna lose an arm or something!" She fought.

Winry sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt. You're a young girl and it's a chaotic city full of who-know's-what!"

"I promis I won't talk to strangers. And if I do, Andy can smack me." Tris begged.

"I'm gonna like this!" Andy cheered happily.

Winry paused for a second. "Fine. You can go to central with Andy"

"YAY!" Tris cheered. "I better grab my stuff!"

Taking her scrolls and a few automail parts, and a port for an arm, complete with wire's and things, and some clothes, Tris was ready and packed to go in about an hour. Surprisingly enough, Andy took slightly longer, but they where both on a train to Central by the end of the day. The family member's staying home; Ed, Winry, Al, May, Yuri, and Nina; waved them off at the train station.

"See ya Andy! See ya Tris!" Nina cheered as the train rolled out.

"Good bye! Love you!" Tris yelled back to her family.

"We'll be back soon!" Said Andy.

"Stay safe!" Winry told them. "I love you too!"

"Learn more about automail! Ok, Tris?" Yuri told her.

"I will!" Tris assured.

"Bye!" Everyone yelled as the train pulled out of the station, and off into the country side.

"They grow up so fast" May cried.

"Just like us, right Ed?" Al asked.

"Yeah. I just hope they have better luck than we did" Ed told his brother.

* * *

Central was big, grey, and filled with people, cars, stray animals, and more people. Despite Tris liking to appear independent, she made sure to hold Andy's hand the entire time, not letting go until the two came to the Central HQ.

The two were let into the HQ after a few identification questions, but Andy had been there enough times that he was trusted to go in. He guided Tris through the HQ, until they came to the office of Lieutenant General Roy Mustang.

Andy entered the office, to see both old and new members of Team Mustang bustling in and out, including one Sargent Elicia Hughes.

She was a tall, lanky, 21-year-old, sporting dark, dirty blond hair held back in a pony tail, and green eyes. She had joined the army at 18, working her way up to Sargent with quick whit and an impressive skill of dodging bullets, along with a bit of hand-to-hand combat. Her goal was to do what her deceased father could not; assist Roy Mustang as he worked his way up to Fuhrer.

Elicia was a good friend of Andy's, and often assisted him when he was taking apprenticeships with other state alchemist. He knew that he could always rely on her for assistance.

"Sargent Hughes!" Andy called out to her.

"Andy! Long time no see! And you brought Tris with you as well!" She cheered. "Oh! Guess what?" She asked. It looked like she had been bubbling with the new's all day.

"What is it?" Andy questioned, walking up to the excited woman. Something in the back of his mind told him that he was going to regret it.

"I got myself a BOYFRIEND!" She cheered, whipping out a picture of him and holding it up in the air like a trophy. She then handed the picture to Andy. "His name is Riley Dane, and he's really cute, and I really like him!"

Andy and Tris looked at the picture. She was right about the 'cute' part. His eyes where a soft turquoise, and his hair was black, and slightly matted, but in an adorable way. He stood next to Elicia with an arm around her.

"You look cute together" Andy told her, handing the picture back.

"He's perfect, you know? He really loves me! He buys me flowers, and jewelry, and food, and daggers, and..."

"One of those things is not like the others" Tris whispered to Andy, referencing Elicia's liking for daggers. Of course, ever since the girl was around twelve, she developed a liking for old-fashioned weapons, making her just as odd and insane as everyone else Andy and Tris knew.

"He also likes a lot of the same thing's I like! We have so much in common! But we also have enough differences that we don't get board with each other! Riley is so awesome! I'd say we'd be great together!" She continued to gush. She then turned to Andy, "Just like you and Lizzy!" She continued.

Andy turned red. "Who said anything about me and Lizzy being great together! She's not that great! We're just friend, anyways! I've known her for about forever so of course I'm gonna be friends with her but it's not like its anything more than that!"

"Says the guy who turns into a tomato whenever Lizzy is brought up" Tris teased.

"Shut up! You're the one who's got a crush on Lizzy's little brother!" Andy snapped.

"No, Nina's the one with the crush on the little stick-in-the-mud." She said, with a board enough expression that one would believe her statement "I'm the one who's waiting for a boy that doesn't remind me of the pickle fiasco every time I look at him"

Andy groaned. "I thought we agreed to pretend the pickle fiasco never happened."

"What's the pickle fiasco?" Asked a confused Elicia.

The two Elric siblings looked up at her with a traumatized look on their faces. "We do not speak of the Pickle Fiasco" They simultaneously moaned out, a depressive aura surrounding them.

"Oh, look who's here! It's the little Elrics!" Said a voice from the back of the room. Lieutenant General Roy Mustang stood in the doorway, with his wife and subordinate, Brigadier General Riza Hawkeye-Mustang, trailing behind him, the usual paperwork in her hand.

"Don't call us little!" The two siblings snapped.

"What are you two doing here anyways?" Mustang asked them.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to ask them that" Elicia said. "I got on the topic of Riley and I couldn't think of anything else!"

"Sargent Hughes, don't you still have the incident in Morrell to wrap up?" Mustang told his subordinate.

"Right" Elicia said, sulking slightly, and getting back to her work.

"And what do you two want?" Mustang once again asked the Elric siblings.

"I want you to make me my apprentice, and teach me flame alchemy" Andy said out loud.

The entire office suddenly froze. Everyone stopped their activities, and stopped their chattering. A pin-drop silence hung about the room.

"Was it something I said?" Andy questioned.

"You knew this day would come, sir" Hawkeye whispered to Mustang. Calling him 'sir' was an old habit that Hawkeye had yet to drop, nor did she care to. Mustang let out a sigh.

"In my office, both of you"

Attached to the office where Mustangs subordinates worked in their own, individual cubicles, was Mustangs own, privet office. He didn't use this office much, as Hawkeye preferred that he stayed out in the open where she could make sure he was doing his work. But when he wanted to have privet meetings like this one, his privet office came in handy.

"Why do you two want to learn Flame Alchemy?" Was Mustang's first question when he sat down at his desk, looking the two kids in the eye.

"Well, two reasons" Andy began. "First of all, I wanted to learn every type of Alchemy that I could possibly learn. I've been taking apprenticeships with dozens of other alchemist ever since I was six, and I think I'm ready to start learning Flame Alchemy. But that reasons not important."

"The second reason" Tris continued, "See, I want to developed an Alchemical equation that can attach Automail to limbs _without_ the surgery. I believe that Flame Alchemy is the final piece for my equation"

Mustang eyed the two children. He'd seen children before that where to ambitious for their experience. Their dad was the exact same way. They hadn't seen war, or pain, or chaos.

They hadn't seen the destruction and the death that Flame Alchemy could cause.

"Do you know what Flame Alchemy is capable of?" He asked them cautiously.

"A whole lot of destruction," Andy answered simply. There wasn't much more too it. But then he said something that surprised Mustang. "But Tris and I believe that if used the _right_ way, for the _right_ reasons, Flame Alchemy can be used for good."

Mustang looked at the two kids, shocked. When he first studied the Alchemy, back when he was young and naive, he also thought it could do good. But now, after Ishval, he knew better.

"What makes you think that this alchemy can do good" Mustang asked them carefully.

"Because if it helps with my equation," Tris started, "then this Alchemy can give people new limbs _without_ a long and painful automail surgery. Don't you think that's good?"

Mustang's eyes averted the children, looking at Hawkeye. Her expression was stoic as always, but her pale face, and fearful eyes said differently. He could tell. She wouldn't want this. It's why she had the tattoo burned off her back; she wanted the retched Alchemy to die with the two of them.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you" He told the kids.

They looked absolutely crestfallen. It was almost sad.

"What do you mean?" Asked Tris.

"I can't teach you Flame Alchemy"

"Why not!?" Snapped Andy. Mustang groaned. He knew this was coming. Andy's personality was so much like his dad's it was irritating. "Just because you haven't seen it do good, doesn't mean it won't!"

"I said I can't" Mustang emphasized again.

"Can't or won't?" Andy growled.

"I can't, I won't, and I don't want to. This Alchemy is dangerous. I'm not giving this information to anyone." Mustang told him firmly.

"Not even my sister?" Andy said fiercely. "She wants this information so she could _help people_. Why is it such a big hidden secrete that not even _she_ can learn it?!"

"Because this alchemy has caused too much death!" Mustang snapped. "Too much destruction. It's a weapon that must die with me. If I pass it on to _anyone_ , even Tris, the weapon will spread, and so will the death that comes with it!"

Andy backed down. The two men where both too stubborn, and if they continued this shouting mach, it would accomplish nothing. He'd be leaving empty handed anyways, and Tris hated hearing him shout.

"Fine. You can keep your stupid secrete, see if I care. My dad was right about you being a selfish bastard." At this, Andy began to walk out of the room.

Tris sighed. He couldn't just leave without throwing out a final insult, couldn't he? Tris turned to Mustang. She wasn't as foul tempered as her brother, but she was just as stubborn; she wouldn't leave without saying her final piece.

"I'm sorry that Andy lost it, and I'd like to thank you for your time" She said, adding a small bow at the end of her sentence. "I know that you're alchemy has caused nothing but pain so far, but if you ever want to see it do good, you know where to find me" And with that, the small girl walked off.

* * *

"What an ass!" Andy ranted. "He won't teach us his alchemy, not even for something good! Does he know what you could do with it? It's not like we're destructive by nature!"

"Andy, shut you're trap" Tris scolded. "Snapping at him definitely won't help anything. Shoving you're temper on him won't solve anything"

"And what will? Tell me that, Tris!" Andy threw back.

"He won't share Flame Alchemy with us because he thinks it's only going to bring pain. We have to show him it can do good" Tris countered.

"And how are we going to show him that if he won't teach it to us?!" Andy snapped.

"Well, you could always steal his spark gloves and figure it out yourself" Said a third voice, seemingly coming up from thin air. This voice belonged to Mustang and Hawkeye's daughter and eldest child, Elizabeth, or Lizzie, Hawkeye-Mustang.

Elizabeth was tall, curvy, with long blond hair, which she kept down, hawk-wing bangs, and brown eyes. She looked a lot like her mother, but had her father's eye shape and nose. She might have also gotten her father's hight. She looked sophisticated as ever, wearing a simple black, sleeved dress that hugged her curves, black tights, and black flats. She was looking forwards to her 15th birthday, when she would finally be able to wear heals. It was amazing how the 11-year-old girl looked mature enough to be a politician.

"Lizzie!" Gasped Andy, promptly turning red. He started tugging on his T-shirt, trying to make it look presentable, suddenly feeling underdressed in the presence of the young lady.

"Hey Lizzie! Long time no see!" Tris said cheerily, waving at her friend.

"Hey Tris!" Lizzie pleasantly said back. She then gave Andy a flirtatious look, "Hello Alexander"

Tris didn't know it was possible for Andy to turn more red.

"So, I hear you two want to learn Flame Alchemy." Lizzie said. "I do too, but mom and dad are so strict about they're alchemy staying out of my hands that they won't even teach me the basics of normal Alchemy. And while little Maes might be ok with this, I am not."

Maes was Lizzie's little brother, and the youngest Hawkeye-Mustang. Lizzie often referred to him as the 'goodiest, goodie-two-shoes who ever goodie two shoed".

"If we can get dad to lighten up with his Alchemy rules, then I might be able to learn it" Lizzie explained.

"What would you suggest?" Andy asked, finally getting out of his trance that came when he usually saw his crush.

"I happen to know where dad locks his gloves. With your alchemy, you could probably get them out of his safe. Then we study the gloves on our own, we might be able to figure out how to do it." Lizzie said.

"Only you, Lizzie." Laughed Tris. "Only you"

* * *

"They'll still want to learn it." Hawkeye explained. "There is nothing we could do that will keep them from desiring the knowledge of Flame Alchemy"

"They'll give it up eventually" Mustang stated. "I almost felt bad, though, not teaching them. Tris looked so sad. Her intentions where good"

"Yours where too, sir" Hawkeye said. "I'm glad you didn't tell them. Even still, they're not gonna let up. They're both too stubborn. We should be careful"

"We will. I will not let our children experience the same pain that we did. Things went badly. I will do anything to protect our children's generation. Even if it means disappointing them"

Lizzie suddenly burst into the room. "Oh Daaaaaadddyyyyyyy!" She cooed, in a sing-song voice. She knew that she needed to go to him for this request; her mother was too strict.

She pranced over to his desk, putting crossed arms onto the desk, and placing her head into it. She then tilted her head to the left, leaning it on her arm, and fluttered her eyelashes. Her mother so accurately named this pose the 'Daddy-I'm-cute-do-what-I-say pose'.

"Daddy, can Andy and Tris come over and spend the night. They hadn't checked out a hotel room yet, and it's been such a long time since I've seen them. Can they come over? Pretty please?" Lizzie begged.

Mustang looked like he was going to crack for a second, but then said. "You're acting all cute to get me to do what you say, aren't you?"

"Sorta" Lizzie hummed.

"Why do you want them to come over" Mustang asked.

"Because they're my friends, and I missed them" Lizzie said, in an overly-sweet tone of voice.

"And why do I not believe you?" Mustang asked with sarcasm in his voice.

"Because you're slightly cynical?" Lizzie reasoned.

"Because usually when you use that tone of voice you're up to something not-so-good" Hawkeye corrected.

"Damn it" Lizzie cursed, dropping the stickily-sweet tone.

"Lizzie, what have I told you about the language?" Hawkeye chastised.

"But Dad uses those words all the time!" Lizzie complained.

"And do I let him get away with it?" Hawkeye asked.

"No" Lizzie grumbled.

"If you want Andy and Tris to come over, I won't stop you. But if you try anything shady, I'm wrapping all of your knuckles" Hawkeye finally said

"Yay!" Lizzie cheered, promptly running out of the room.

"We're gonna regret this, aren't we?" Mustang asked his wife.

"Yes. Yes we are. Now hurry up with that report. The Fuhrer wanted it turned in to her today"

* * *

The report, as usual, was boring as ever. It's events where interesting; a street fight in the city of Morrell in the West ended up leading to the death of 10 individuals. Nothing about the surrounding paperwork entertained him however, side from the reports of people witnessing 'a strange individual in a blue cloak'. The report, however, was a good chance for him to personally visit the Fuhrer herself, which gave him a chance to win favors with her.

One of the first rules Armstrong had established was that unless they retire, or die, a Fuhrer could have up to four terms of living in office. Each term was a total of five years. After the first term ended, the Fuhrer had to be re-voted into office by the Amestrian citizens. However, Armstrong was well-liked enough that she was two years into her third term.

She had yet to choose a successor. Someone she had in mind was, of course, Miles, but he had no interest in becoming Fuhrer. There was talk that she was highly considering her brother, but that was just a rumor. Another likely candidate she had in mind was Mustang, which is why he jumped at every chance he could to win favor with her.

She was a hard woman to please. She hated disrespect, but she also hated people kissing up to her. He would try to act like a casual friend around her, but avoided throwing insults at her. It was more difficult then one might think.

"I have the report you wanted" He told her as he walked into her office. Anyone who knew Fuhrer Armstrong knew she hated the office, as it was all to easy to be shot from the place that the chair sat.

"Good." She replied, grabbing the report and looking it over. "'A strange individual in a blue cloak'" She read.

"That's what the witnesses said" Mustang explained.

"Hmmm" She mused. "Do you remember General Train, the man who attempted to have me assassinated 12 years ago?"

"How can I forget" Mustang replied. The unsolved mystery of General Train's prison break and death still came up different reports, even though it had been more than a decade since the event took place.

"Well, I had the contents of his office searched, and one curious thing I found was a dark blue cloak, with a number 98 sewn on the inside. I didn't think much of it then..." she trailed off, looking at Mustang's report again. "There have been incidents that cause small amounts of death popping up everywhere in some of Amestris's bigger city's. They look like accidents, unrelated, but there have been enough witnesses of individuals in blue cloaks in most of the cities to lead me to believe that they are all connected. We might be dealing with something bigger than it looks"

* * *

"Dad's not home right now, so he won't be coming into his office for a while" Lizzie said. "That'll give us more than enough time to search for his gloves"

"I thought you knew where the gloves where" Said Tris.

"I knew the _location_ , not the _exact position_ " Said Lizzie.

"So you're useless" Grumbled Tris.

Lizzie hated being called useless as much as her dad did. "Hey! I'm the one who got you this far, wasn't I?"

"Do you know anything else about the gloves location besides them being in his office?" Andy asked.

"Nope" Lizzie said.

Tris groaned. "Just lock the doors, we don't need Maes catching us"

* * *

Around an hour later, after searching through multiple spots in the office, Lizzie finally found the gloves.

"YES!" She cried, raising her prize in the air; a brief case with a lock.

"Are those the gloves?" Asked Andy.

"Yep!" Lizzie cheered. "These are them!"

She plumped the case onto the desk, grabbed a piece of paper, and a pen, and gave the two objects to Andy.

"Alright, Andy! Do you're thing!"

Andy drew a transmutation circle onto the paper, and placed it underneath the glove box. He activated the circle, which added a small set of doors to the top of the box. The doors had tacky details etched into it, including the skull of a bull, along with crossbones. It was disgusting to someone with such a good fashion sense the likes of Lizzie.

"You have terrible taste, don't you?" Lizzie stated.

Andy's face turned red, which got a laugh out of Tris. When she settled down, they opened the doors, and pulled out a pair of gloves. They had the flame alchemist transmutation circle printed into the fabric, and the material felt different than the normal statin cloth most state alchemist made their gloves out of. A look of awe was plastered on all three of their faces.

"This is it" Andy whispered.

Suddenly the door nob twisted, and then someone started banging on it. "LIIIIIIIIZZZZZZIIIIIIIEEEEE!" Came an annoyed voice from the other side of the door. The voice of Maes Hawkeye-Mustang.

"Damn it!" Lizzie whispered.

"Lizzie! Come on out! I know you're in here!" When Lizzie didn't say anything, Maes continued, "Lizzie, I'm gonna tell Mom you're in here"

Lizzie groaned and opened the door. Forcing on a pleasant smile, she greeted her little brother. "Hey, Maessy" she said pleasantly, using her all-too-cutesy nickname for her little brother.

Despite being only nine, Maes somehow managed to perfect the 'unamused' face, and probably had the best one in the country. He had his father's black hair and charcoal eyes, and wore black-rimmed rectangular glasses. While his personality wasn't as pronounced as that of his sisters, anyone who met the two Hawkeye-Mustang siblings would definitely say that Maes was more responsible, and behaved than his elder sister. Hawkeye found it slightly disappointing how the younger of her kids was the more mature.

"Big Sister, you know you're not supposed to be in Dad's office" Maes deadpanned. It was hard to believe that he was only nine.

"Oh, I was just grabbing some paper" She said in a voice of warm butter.

"Then what are Andy and Tris doing behind you?" He asked. Lizzie turned to see that the two Elrics were right in Maes's line of sight, and so was Mustang's glove box. _Crud_. Lizzie thought. She turned back to her little brother and gave him her ever-so-innocent smile anyways.

"Well, I didn't want to go and grab the paper alone. You know how much I love company" That much was true.

Maes was having none of it. "They have dad's spark gloves. You're up to something" He stated simply. "And I don't really care what you're up to. _You_ can be the one to explain it to dad" At this, he began to walk off.

"Wait a minuet, Maes! You're not gonna tell anyone about this!" She snapped.

"What are _you_ going to do to stop me?" Maes asked.

"As I remember, you have a large crush on Nina Elric" Lizzie began. Maes promptly turned red. "That's not a big deal, I'm pretty sure she has a crush on you too" Lizzie continued, waiting to pack her punch. "But, as I remember, she wasn't there to witness the pickle fiasco, wasn't she?"

Maes looked at her with a gapped mouth and wide eyes. "You wouldn't" He said fearfully.

"I bet she wouldn't like you anymore if she learned what _you_ did that started the whole fiasco. She would think that you're not worth her time, or her energy, or her emotion. Don't you think so too? However, if _you_ don't tell mom and dad about what you saw us doing, then Nina will never find out about the pickle fiasco. We got a deal, my dear little brother?"

Maes paused for a few seconds, wondering if she was serious. But if he knew anything about Lizzie, it was that she would _always_ come through with her threats.

"Fine, I won't breath a word. But if Nina ever finds out what happened during the pickle fiasco, I'm telling our parents about _this_!" And with that, he marched off.

Lizzie smiled. She turned on her heals, and walked back to the office, victorious. The victory, however, lost it's pizzazz when she saw Andy and Tris's traumatized looks.

"Ok, I'm sorry for bringing up the pickle fiasco, but at least we got ol' stick-in-the-mud off our backs!" Lizzie explained. The two siblings simply glared at her. "It triggered me too, ok!" She defended. They just growled at her. She groaned, her pride washed out of her. "Just, put the gloves back the way they were. And don't forget to erase the door."

* * *

The two Elrics sat on Lizzie's bed inside her locked room, picking apart the circle. Lizzie sat in her chair, reading a book. Her doors where locked.

"This symbol hear, the little flame piercing the circle. I think it stands for 'fire' which makes sense. This triangle alone would also mean fire, but by adding the line from the other triangle, it means air. And the circle inside the main transmutation circle stands for oxygen. By adding an air symbol and an oxygen symbol, it means to transmute oxygen within the air." Andy listed, as he looked at each part of the circle.

"What about the upside down triangle?" Tris asked. "That means water. But water wouldn't make sense for fire."

"But with a line, it means earth, which might be the reason that this alchemy has pin-point accuracy" Andy explained. "So that's most of the parts, seems simple enough. But there's one thing I don't understand."

Tris knew what he was talking about. "The lizard."

"It's actually a salamander" Lizzie called out from her chair. "Dad told me that"

"Salamander" Mused Tris.

"In ancient legions, a salamander was the only animal that could survive fire. But what does that have to do with Flame Alchemy?" Andy asked.

"Liiiiizzzzzziiiiiieeeeee! Diiiinnnnneeeerrrrr!" Came the loud, sudden call of Hawkeye from down stairs.

"Cooooommmmmmmmiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggg!" Lizzie shouted back.

"We'll figure it out later. Let's eat!" Cheered Tris, who had inherited her father's stomach.

"Give me a second!" Andy told her. The two girls watched as Andy slipped his gloves on and snapped his figures, hoping something would come out of it. The girls waited in fear (Lizzie was scared of what would happen to her room) and anticipation (Tris was excited to see her big brother perform flame alchemy). Nothing happened.

"It didn't work" Andy said in disappointment.

"Good thing too, otherwise you would've lit my room on fire" Lizzie snapped sharply.

* * *

A few days later, Andy and Tris were back on the train to Risimbule, hoping to consult with their dad and uncle about the secrets behind flame alchemy. Of course, their mom might be disappointed in them for stealing Mustangs gloves, and their dad would try to _act_ disappointed in them, but that was a risk they were willing to take.

"I still don't have a clue what this salamander is." Andy grumbled.

"Maybe I'll be able to think on a full stomach" Tris said. As if on cue, her stomach growled.

"You ate at the train station" Andy said, unamused with his sister's large appetite.

"I was hungry then, and I'm hungry now. Do you know which direction the food cart is?" She asked.

Andy jerked his thumb behind him. "It's near the caboose"

Tris walked off to grab food, leaving Andy to ponder the missing puzzle piece to flame alchemy.

"Salamander" He told himself. "The fire lizard. What does this have to do with fire?"

He looked at the animal in his notes. "A fire animal. In alchemy, animals are living beings with less powerful souls than humans." He continued to talk to himself in attempts to come up with something. "Mustang said that fire causes death and destruction, but animals are life. It balances the equation. But still... if someone wanted to balance the equation, they could've just used the alchemical symbol for 'life'" He was getting somewhere, he knew that. "The creator of flame alchemy choose _this_ lizard for a reason. If an animal is life, then a salamander is fire life. Life in fire..." It suddenly donned on him. "To create a flame you need to give it life! Heat! To understand fire you have to understand how it comes alive!" Andy had never been so excited. "Tris! I... Oh, right. You went to grab food. Well, you missed the fun part" He said, finally writing down his findings.

He then reached for Tris's toolbox, where he knew she kept her equations. However, he had barely wrapped his hands around the box when the train rumbled and shook. Suddenly, everything was tipping and flailing about. Andy swore he heard something blow up, but with the noise of screams and creaks and chaos, he wasn't sure. His head hit against something hard, and everything went black.

* * *

His head was foggy, and his vision was blurry. He smelled smoke and iron. There was a liquid with a metallic taste sitting in his mouth. When he spat it out, he could sort of make out something red. He must have spat blood. He felt his tongue in his mouth. It appears he bit it.

Andy slowly sat up. He had a piece of glass lodged into his arm. He looked to see he was sitting on glass. There was glass above him. Andy was finally able to register his surroundings. The train car must have tipped over. Next to him was Tris's tool box. Something told him we would want to take it with him.

With the box slung around his shoulder, he stood up, and used the sideways seat in front of him to pull himself up. He then used the seats to climb out of the trains broken window.

The train crashed somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It was a mess. There was a large amount of smoke and fire. But what was probably worst of all, was that Tris was nowhere to be seen.

"TRIS!" He called out. "TRIS! TRISHA! MY LITTLE SISTER! WHERE IS SHE!"

He trudged in what he was sure was the direction of the caboose, looking for his sister, as he continued to walk, he noticed that there where less alive people, and messier looking train cars, the further down he got. This was a bad sign.

He walked pass a car with a giant hole in it. Laying inside this particular train car, where a few dead-looking adults, and one limp small body. Trisha.

"TRISHA!" He screamed, running to his little sister. He reached for her right hand to check her pulse with, only to realize something horrible; there was no arm.

A few inches up her elbow, there was only a stump of bleeding, messy flesh. Near her was a piece of sheet metal, with a giant blood stain on it. It seemed that was the culprit for taking her arm.

But she was slowly breathing.

Andy quickly pulled his shirt off, and wrapped it around his sister's stump. Much to his horror, it bled strait through. He had to find a way to close the wound, or she would bleed to death. He thought for a second to try to use Flame Alchemy to cauterize the wound (he hadn't been able to make a flame yet so far, but it was worth a shot), only to realize he left the gloves back in the cart. If he ran to grab them, by the time he got back, Tris would most likely be dead. He had, however, one more option. Tris's equation.

In her tool box, she had an automail port. This he would use to seal the wound. It was dangerous to do Automail surgery on a fresh wound, but he didn't have much other options. He didn't have many other resources.

Whipping out Tris's main equation, he opened the scroll, and dipped his figures into Tris's blood. To weld the wires to the nerves, and the iron to bone, he would need an extreme heat. Alchemy could heat up the metal, doing the job for him. All he needed was a certain symbol from flame Alchemy.

Using Tris's blood, he drew a small salamander in a section near the lines that stood for nerves. Fire had life in it. It could do good. This fire could save Trisha's life.

One port, one stump of an arm, and a transmutation circle. Tris's screams where unbearable, but she would live. Her circle, her dream, her work; it would save her life. And she would use her life to prefect her work, and then use this work to save the lives of others.

* * *

"Are you serious?!" Number 5 shouted. "We sacrificed Number 54 for that! She was our best explosives expert! And we made the mistake of nearly killing _two_ Elrics!"

"You're forgetting that the two of them lived, and that blood has been spilt in the area" Said Number 4, the more rational of the two. "We made a dangerous leap, but it all worked out. There's nothing to stress about"

"I'd have to agree with Number 4" Said the cruel voice of the now 28-year-old Cora McGravin. "It all worked out, so why should we be hyped. Number 54 made a sacrifice any of us would be more than proud to make. She died with honor. And we have another spot available to place in our equation. The little Elrics survived, and we were even able to collect the little girls blood. I'd say, all-and-all, blowing up that train was the best thing we've done so far"

* * *

 _One Month Later_

Winry placed a bowl of cereal in front of her daughter. One arm, her right arm, was nothing but an armless port, and her left hand was latching on to a spoon, scooping the cereal into her mouth like she never had a meal in her life.

When Andy brought Tris home with a missing arm, Winry had freaked out. But when she calmed down, she told herself she wouldn't cry until she made sure her daughter's port was completely fixed. Andy and Tris's alchemy worked to a point. Most nerves connected successfully, but there where some small mistakes, which Winry spent a few days fixing. Plus, because she had her automail connected to early, Tris had gotten a major infection, which Winry had to tend to.

Now her daughter was scarfing down her favorite cereal for the first time since the train accident. Her usual appetite was back. And now, Winry could finally cry for her daughter.

Tris turned to see her mother in tears. "What?" She asked.

Winry pulled the girl into a hug. "You went through so much pain." She told her.

Tris took a break from her cereal to hug her mother back. "I'm sorry mom." She whispered, shedding tears of her own. During the surgery and the sickness, she did her best not to cry. Tris had an ongoing principle that she wouldn't cry if she could do something to make it better. But now, she let the tears flow. There wasn't anything she could do right now, except for cry with her mother.

At some point, an extra pair of arms found their way around two, as Edward joined in, holding his family. His family, who he had hoped would never be broken in this way.

"I'm not broken" Tris said, as if reading her father's mind. "I will never truly break. As long as I can stand up again, I will never fall to my knees. I can rise above this. Can't I?"

"Of course you can. I'm glad to here you will" Ed told his daughter.

"Now poor yourselves some cereal!" Tris commanded her parents. "I'm not eating my marshmallow flakes alone!"

* * *

"Three" Counted Yuri,

"Two" Winry continued,

"One!" Yuri finally said, before the boy and his mother cranked the wrench, connecting Tris's arm to her port for the first time. Her dad stood behind her, holding her shoulders, and her brother held her hand. Her uncle, aunt, and cousin stood around her, watching. Tris groaned in pain, as the nerves connected.

"OWWW! THIS IS THE WORST!" She shouted, tightening her grip on her brother.

"Don't focus on the pain! Focus on gripping my hand" Tris did so "OW!" Andy cried out as his sister crushed his hand.

"SHUT UP! WHATEVER PAIN YOU'RE FEELING IS _NOTHING_!" Tris snapped.

"It won't be that bad when you get used to it" Ed promised.

"SAYS THE GUY WHO _HOLLERS_ WHEN HE GET'S HIS LEG ATTACHED!" Tris yelled out.

"Are you ok?" Nina asked hesitantly.

"DO I LOOK OK?!" Tris snapped.

Before she knew it, however, the arm was attached, and she was good.

"YAY!" everyone cheered, lifting their hands in the air. Tris's right arm, however, only fell off the table. "Ow! That hurts!" She cried.

Winry and Ed lifted her hand back up and put it on the table. It was Yuri's first arm, and was supposedly light. However, Tris felt like wearing that arm was like holding an elephant.

"It'll feel lighter with time" Winry told her daughter. "Just some therapy and recovery. You'll learn how to use it well eventually"

Tris sighed. "I can do it." She said. "If I can make an Alchemical equation that can attach a port to an arm, then I can get through recovery. _Easily_!"

"That's the spirit!" Al cheered.

There was a knock on the door. Andy ran to answer it.

"Roy Mustang" He said with a groan as he opened the door to see the four human members of the Hawkeye-Mustang family standing there. He knew it. He was busted.

"I heard you stole a pair of my gloves" He said, getting straight down to business.

"How'd you-?" Andy started, but Mustang finished.

"You'd be surprised to know I know the _exact_ number of spark gloves I own. When Lizzie spent an entire evening with you and your sister in her room behind locked doors, I started to have my suspicions. Usually you three include Maes in your shenanigans. After counting my gloves I knew exactly what you three did."

"Ok, sorry." Andy started. "But stealing your gloves gave me the information that saved Tris's life. So it wasn't wrong what I did"

"What you _did_ , was highly irresponsible, technically thievery, and a personal violation." Mustang snapped. Andy backed down. He knew when a fight was lost.

"However," Mustang said, surprising Andy, "You did manage to save your sister, so I will let you off the hook. I guess this Alchemy can be used for good after all."

Andy smiled, the pride swelling inside of him. Then an idea came to him. "So, Mustang. If you think that this Alchemy can do good, then how about you reconsider that apprenticeship?"

"No" Mustang said, instantly killing all of Andy's hopes. "But..." Andy perked up upon hearing the 'but'. "I will teach you enough of the alchemy to help you and Tris complete you're equation. From what I heard, it has yet to be perfected. Maybe some parts of Flame Alchemy can help with that"

Andy tried to hide his excitement. He failed. "Yippie!" He shouted, jumping up and down across the room. He would be able to make Tris's dream come true. And maybe, with the information Mustang would give him, he could figure out the rest of the alchemy himself, and master all types of Alchemy.

"Does this mean you'll finally let us learn Alchemy?" Lizzie asked. Mustang let out a groan.

"Fine" He said. "But no Flame Alchemy, the only thing you two would do with it would burn the house down"

"By you two you really mean her, don't you?" Maes said. He didn't need his dad to confirm that theory to know it was true.

Mustang gave both his kids a look of guilt. "I will not answer that" He said. Then he walked into Ed's house.

Lizzie walked up to Andy. "So, you finally convinced the old man to let loose" She said.

"I admit it, you're not bad at these things" Maes said.

"Wow, are you letting loose to, little brother?" Lizzie asked her uptight sibling, surprised.

"The future Fuhrer of Amestris can't afford to let loose" Maes stated matter-of-factly.

"Fuhrer?" Andy questioned.

"He want's to become the Fuhrer when he get's older" Lizzie explained.

"And then I'll force every member of the military to learn to play the violin" He said proudly.

"That's really random" Andy remarked.

"So," Said Mustang's voice from the living room, where the rest of the family currently was. "This is Yuri. He's grown. Not like I can say the same for you're other two kids"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" Andy found himself simultaneously yelling with Tris as he burst into the room.

"They're all so cute and little" Mustang continued, ignoring the two's remarks. "Just like you, Fullmetal"

Edward, Andy, and Tris all started yelling at Mustang; "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!" Tris even stood up in an attempt to slam her limp, somewhat heavy arm at the man. However, she was stopped when something hard crashed into the back of her head.

She turned to see a chair, and then to the person who threw it; Yuri. "I will not be seeing you manhandling _my_ automail _this_ early into the surgery. Or ever. Understood!?"

"Understood" Muttered Tris, hoping not to get hit with any more chairs.

"Yuri, we don't hit" Winry forced out, despite being secretly proud of her son.

* * *

A few days later, Andy was about to go off with the Hawkeye-Mustangs to Central to learn what he could about Flame Alchemy. Tris wanted desperately to come, but had to stay due to recovery from her automail surgery.

The train that would take Andy to Central pulled into the station. Tris's automail arm was wrapped into a sling so she could carry it when she went to say goodbye to Andy with the rest of the family. As the train started pulling in, she started shaking. Andy wrapped his fingers around her left hand.

"It's alright Tris. This trains not gonna blow up" He told her. She then took a dive into his chest, hugging him tightly the best she could. He hugged back, and as terrible as he felt for his frightened sister, he couldn't help but feel happy that she found safety in him. The rest of the family joined in the group hug. When they broke apart, Nina latched on to Tris in attempts to comfort her, and Andy grabbed his suitcase.

"Well, I guess I'm off" He said.

"You'll be spending a whole who-knows-how-long in the estates of Elizabeth Hawkeye-Mustang." Yuri teased. "Tell me if anything big happens between you two"

"Shut up!" Andy said, turning red, but gave his little brother a pat on the head nonetheless, messing up Yuri's slicked-back hair.

"Love you all! See you guys!" Andy said as he ran off to join the Hawkeye-Mustang's, who were already boarding the train. "When I come back, I'll be a flame alchemist! And you, Tris, will be able to complete your equation!" With that statement. He boarded the train, peaking out the door to give his family a final wave.

"And off he goes" Laughed Ed.

"You're kids just jumped over a big hurtle you know" Al told his brother.

"Yeah, with hope, it will be they're biggest. And hopefully their last" Ed said back.

However, even though he didn't know this now, his children, and himself, would have much greater hurtles to overcome.

And they where coming soon.

* * *

 **And there you have it!**

 **I'm soooo sorry it's late. But I'll try better next time.**

 **Flame Alchemy was completely picked apart by me, using alchemical symbols I found on the internet. If anything is inaccurate, please tell me in a review. About the transmutation circle Andy used to save Tris, the salamander represents the life of fire, or heat, in a sense. Theoretically, it would heat up the wires and weld them to the nerves. If that didn't make sense in the story, which I hope it did, I am explaining it now.**

 **As for the second FMA generation, I hope you liked them. I had fun writing them, especially Lizzie. She's so awesome. I really hoped you liked her! She's definitely my favorite so far.**

 **And I think that's all I have to say for this chapter. So, until next time I guess.**

 **~ MotherUniverse signing out.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Final Step

**Hello! I am here again! Because I am more awesome this chapter than I was last chapter, and actually got this one out on time.**

 **First, I'd like to thank Hamsterboy3, you and your reviews will always be welcome here. Sorry for the long chapter, but I guess I can't write short chapters for the life of me. This one will be relatively long, but I might be able to make the one after this shorter, depending if I can find a time to break it off. I will try to make short chapters, and I will most likely fail, but I will get there at some point. My goal is to someday make a chapter with very little flaw, and I have a feeling that you will let me know when that happens. But the fact that you are still reviewing means that the characters are in character, which makes m happy, as I was slightly worried that they weren't. My current goal is to learn how to make things short (that's a problem I often have with school essays), but I will make no promises. I will however, try my best to break the chapters off at a time that makes sense, because that's the best I can do. **

**So, most of this chapter takes place 1 and a half years after the last one. Over the time jump, Tris had been getting used to the automail, with the help of Yuri, Ed, and Winry, and Andy is learning pieces of Flame Alchemy. Then, the two of them might or might not be getting a hard poke from a certain housewife. I forgot to say the whole "next time" thing the last chapter, so I shall do it here. But! After this chapter, we will be done with the background information!**

 **Next chapter, we shall be getting to the main plot, so get excited!**

 **Again, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. It will never happen. Sorry.**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 6: The Final Step

* * *

Over the year, Andy was off and about learning Flame Alchemy, and Tris was home, working her way through recovery. She was determined to take no more than a year and a half, and so far, she was doing well. She had learned to lift her arm, pick things up, and make a wide range of motion with it. She was still having trouble grabbing more fragile things without gripping to hard and breaking them (Glass, some pieces of wood, and the more malleable forms of metal). Ed had to say, he was proud of her.

Over the year, Ed had learned 3 things each about his children that he never knew before.

The first thing he learned about Andy was that he was much better about calling home and visiting than Ed and Al were when they where his age. Andy called just about every day, mostly to check up on how Tris was doing, and would visit home every two weeks on the weekends. Winry had not failed to mention that Andy was better about family visits then Ed was. Maybe it was just because of how worried he was about his baby sister, and Ed didn't blame him. The second thing Ed learned about Andy was that he had become rather attached to his younger sister. He was protective, always making sure he had a chance to talk to her during phone calls, and would often 'backseat drive' when he watched Winry and Yuri making adjustments on Tris's arm, making comments and throwing in his two bits worth, even though he had no clue how to construct an automail arm. The third thing Ed learned about his son was that Andy was terrible when it came to girls. Ed might have already known that, considering that he turned tomato red whenever anyone mentioned Lizzie's name, but it got worse while he was living with her. It soon got to a point where talking to her got hard, and awkward, and Ed knew about this, because Andy would always be talking to him about it, in loud, fast, incoherent rants.

The first thing he learned about Tris was that she now had a large fear of trains. Ed couldn't blame her. She would shake violently any time she came onto the station platform, and soon she would refuse to go to the train station for any reason. The second thing he learned about her was that she had an equal attachment to her older brother that he did to her. She would often have dreams about the train explosion, and always seemed call Andy afterwards. Usually he picked up. When he didn't, Tris often ended up spending the night in her parents bed. The third thing he learned about Tris was that she was much better with automail maintenance than Ed would ever be. It might've been her love for automail that encouraged it, but she was rather attached to her arm. She would never miss a day of oiling, always dried it off as soon as it was hit with water, took extra precautions that it wouldn't rust, and she had even waxed it a few times. This made Winry and Yuri's job much easier. Winry had not failed to mention how much better Tris's maintenance skills where in compared to Ed's. She constantly liked to remind him of this, and would often give Tris loud complements on her maintenance skills, telling her that "they are much better than your fathers". Ed found this rather annoying.

The first thing he learned about Yuri was that the boy worried about his sister about as much as Andy did. In some ways, he reminded Ed of his teacher. He would keep Tris working on recovery, but demand that she'd take breaks when she stressed herself too much. He made sure she used her arm whenever possible, but would go as far as to take it off it's port when Tris refused to rest. He would always keep on his toes, and Ed didn't mind that. The second thing he learned about Yuri was that the poor boy would sometimes feel like the third wheel of his siblings, especially when Andy and Tris where talking on the phone. He tried to be there for Tris as much as possible, and it seemed that she relied on him a lot, but it was always Andy she went to when she had problems. Yuri understood; he was the older of her brothers, so he made more sense as the one to go to, and he did save her life in the train accident, but sometimes, he couldn't help but feel like they had a certain bond that he would never be able to share with them. This strengthened his resolve to help his siblings as much as possible, because no matter what, as long as he did something for them, it would turn out alright. Ed was proud of his sons determination, and would try to help Yuri feel like he was doing something as often as possible. The third thing he learned about Yuri, was that the kid seemed to not only have a talent with automail, but was a master of everything that required his hands, especially cooking. The family soon learned that a homemade meal from Yuri was like eating a slice of heaven, and he was often was assigned cooking the dinners for the family, which Winry was pleased about, as it gave her an excuse to use her usual cooking time as work time. However, Ed had a feeling that the reason Yuri loved cooking because Tris and Andy loved his food.

Edward's conclusion from everything he learned and already knew about his children was that their family would be unpredictable. He didn't know what would happen in the future, but the only thing he could think was that it could be crazy, or difficult, or possibly both. But that was ok, no matter what the tides threw at them, Ed was certain that his family would be able to power through it, and stand tall and together in the end. And that was all that mattered.

* * *

As soon as Andy walked through the house door, he yelled out a request for orange juice. This somehow triggered Tris's large apatite, and she asked for grilled cheese. However, the Elrics had recently ran out of cheese. Winry was working, Ed was sleeping (and he slept like the dead), Andy and Tris always bought the 'wrong cheese', which meant that it was up to Yuri to go to the store to buy it. When he refused, saying "I'm reading something, ask me later", Andy and Tris abducted him, and walked him to the store, Andy carrying him by his arms, and Tris holding his legs.

"Put me down! I can walk to the store myself, you don't have to carry me!" He shouted in protest as his older siblings walked him towards the town.

"If we put you down you'd go running back to whatever book you where reading" Andy explained.

"I wouldn't, I promis!" He swore to them, "But if you really want me to buy the perfect cheese then you're going to have to let me walk"

"Oh, come on, Yuri! Let us have our fun!" Tris teased.

"Tris, this is bad for your automail. You know what I said about heavy objects!" Yuri protested.

"My automail's fine and you know it" Tris replied, "Besides, you're lighter than air. This is easy."

"You two are crazy" He mumbled.

"You know you love us" Andy teased.

"Yeah, I love you guys" Yuri huffed back, but the elder ones could tell his words where earnest. "Now, can you let me go? You're starting to pull my pants down!"

"Oops! Sorry!" Tris said, letting go of her little brother's legs. Andy pushed him up, and Yuri pulled his jeans back up to an appropriate spot. Tris started laughing him, so Yuri, using his strength as an automail mechanic, flipped her over his shoulder, and started marching to the store with her.

"Be careful with her!" Andy shouted worriedly.

"I'm not gonna drop her, I've carried heavier things than this. Besides, this is payback for you two abducting me" Yuri replied.

"Oh, come on!" Tris wined. "You're not doing this to Andy!"

"Andy's too heavy to do this to." Yuri explained, earning a shout in protest and offence from the brother in question. "Besides, you wanted grilled cheese, so therefore the abduction was you're idea."

Tris slumped on her brother in sadness. "It's not my fault I have a large stomach" She whined.

* * *

After a nice meal of grilled cheese, the kids where joined by their parents at the table, who dove into a chat about how Andy's training went.

"So, are you just visiting or are you staying here for good?" Asked Winry.

"I'm staying here for good. He's taught me all that he's willing to teach." Andy told his mother. "But I think it will help with your equation, Tris" He then said to his sister.

"That's good. I've been waiting to work on it some more" Said Tris. "I still have to rewrite the equation on a different piece of paper, because it got a lot of blood on it, but I've only recently been able to pick up a pencil with my right hand." Tris laughed. "I wish I was a lefty. Or ambidextrous"

"Have you tried writing down the equation with your left hand?" Andy asked her.

"It ends up coming out all shaky" Tris explained.

"I offered to write it for her, but Tris said it was her project" Ed told his son.

"I wan't to be the one to write it down. To complete it. I want the research to be mine" Tris elaborated.

"That's good." Andy told her. "It's your life's work, it should be yours."

"So, how much Flame Alchemy did you learn?" Tris asked her brother, changing the subject.

"Surprisingly not that much. You'd think I would've learned more considering I've been away about a year and a half by now. But it's more complicated than we thought. It's why most of the wires were loose or misaimed when I attached them to you're nerves" Andy said.

"But I bet you know enough to make fire, though" Tris stated.

"Small ones." Andy clarified. "No larger-than-life explosions though. Probably ever. But I can light small flames"

"Can you show me?" Tris asked.

"Sure, give me a second" Andy said, getting up from the table and going to his room to grab something. He came back with a lighter and a pen. "Mustang didn't let me take his spark gloves home, unfortunately. But I figured out how to improvise"

Andy drew the Flame Alchemy transmutation circle onto his hand with the pen. He then took the lighter, sparked it, added the alchemy, and lit his leftover grilled cheese on fire. The flame flickered on leftover food, burning it to a crisp. Andy then took the flame out with a single blow of air from his lips.

"Awesome!" Yuri cheered.

"That was a waist of some perfectly good grilled cheese" Tris chastised.

"Oh, bite me" Andy replied. "It was cool and you know it!"

"Well, don't do it in the house" Winry told her son. "If you light the place on fire you're gonna be in big trouble"

"I'll try not to" Andy grumbled. "But it's not like I ignore safety rules when using this stuff"

"Remember the time you nearly killed the neighbors cat with the blender?" Winry reminded him.

"That was an accident!" Andy shouted in embarrassment.

"And you might _accidentally_ light the house on fire" Winry said simply.

"Fine, I won't do it in the house." Andy sighed in disappointment.

"So now that you mastered Flame Alchemy, anything else you want to learn?" Ed asked.

"I don't think there's anything else _to_ learn" Andy replied. "I mean, theres still a lot of types of alchemy out there, but I think I've crammed as much as I can into my brain for the time being."

"Then you're ready for the final step" Ed said mischievously. "You're ready to be trained by _her_ "

Andy's face immediately paled. "Uh, I don't think that will be necessary" He said hesitantly, trying to wiggle his way out of a previous deal he made with his father. "I mean, what can she teach me that I already know"

"She's the best teacher there is, Andy." Ed said stubbornly. "Besides, she's practically your grandmother. What's there to fear?"

"When she's acting all grandmother-y she's nice and all, but when she's not acting grandmother-y, she's scary as hell!"

"You said you wanted to train with her as the final step. You're not backing out now, Andy."

"Mom! Help me out here!" Andy begged his mother.

Winry shrugged. "A deal is a deal, Andy. Besides, Izumi will be disappointed if you back out"

"She's the teacher of terror!" Andy cried.

"She won't do anything to you that would kill you or brutally maim you." Winry told him. "Besides, I haven't met anyone who teaches life lessons better than she does. You can learn a thing or two from her."

"None of you are going to help me" Andy groaned.

"Well, good luck Andy." Tris laughed. "Have fun" Tris got up to leave the table and put her grilled cheese away.

"Wait a minute, young lady" Ed called out to her. "Hold it."

Tris stopped walking, a sense of something foreboding settling into her chest.

"Back to the table." Ed demanded. Tris obeyed. "Didn't you say that when Andy wen't for his final stage, you wanted to go with him?" Ed reminded her.

That was right. She did say that. Tris's face turned white like her elder brothers. "I was little back then" She excused. "Besides, I didn't know much. And how is training with her gonna help me further my equations anyways?"

"This isn't about Alchemy" Ed told his children. "While her main goal is to teach it, there's also something else to her teachings as well. Without our teacher, we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did. She's not just about training alchemy, but about training the mind and the body. And strengthening the soul. She will help you. You'll come across some challenges if you decide to pursue Alchemy. It can lead to a lot of pain. Trust me, I know. If you want to learn the truth behind Alchemy, then there is no better person to go to than Izumi Curtis"

Andy and Tris sighed in defeat. This was the life they choose, so they would have to endure the teacher.

"If you wan't to go with them, you can, Yuri" Ed told his youngest son, noticing the boy looked a bit put out.

Yuri thought about this offer for a second. While he and his sister shared a single love for automail, her desperation to learn alchemy was what pulled her towards her elder sibling. The two of them shared a bond Yuri didn't think he could possibly gain from from either of them. He could follow them around all he wanted, but he would never share the same passion that they did. But that didn't matter. In the end, it was always _him_ that his two older siblings would come running back to when they needed a meal, or a tune-up on Tris's automail, or just a brother that they could have some genuine fun with, and take a break from all the chaos. For now, it was enough. It was pointless to pursue something he wasn't passionate about just to keep up with his elder siblings.

"Nah" Yuri replied. "I have no interest in alchemy, so going to her to learn it would be pointless. Besides, why would I go to the teacher of terror if I don't have to?"

"Lucky bastard" Andy mumbled, upset that his little brother got out of it and he didn't.

* * *

Getting Tris onto a train would be a nightmare, and making her ride the train would be even more of one, so the Elrics decided not to bother. Instead, Ed would drive Andy and Tris down to Dublith in a rental car. It took a few days, filled with annoying backseat driving and about a hundred "are we there yet"'s from the kids, but eventually, they arrived in the town of Dublith, and Ed dropped Tris and Andy off in front of the Curtiss meat shops.

"Don't you wanna go in and say hi?" Andy asked his father.

"Maybe later. Good luck" Ed told his kids, promptly abandoning them at the front of the shop.

"Coward" Andy said bitterly.

"Come on, Andy. No use stalling" Tris said, grabbing her suitcase and walking towards the meat shops.

The two of them stood in front of the shiny red door. "Here goes nothing" Said Tris, taking a deep breath, and knocking on the door with her automail arm.

The large wild man known as Sig Curtis opened the door, a butcher's knife in his hands. Any other person would be terrified of him, but Andy and Tris knew the who the _real_ scary one in the Curtis family.

"Hey, grandpa" The two of them said pleasantly. The Curtis family where practically like their grandparents (when Izumi was _not_ pissed off at them), so they often referred to them as so. The two of them, especially Izumi in particular, loved the nickname, so it stuck. They didn't visit the Curtis's as often as they would like. Mostly because Ed and Al tended to avoid seeing them. But they still liked the Curtis family all the same.

"Andy! Tris! We weren't expecting you. Where's the rest of your family?" Sig asked them.

"It's just us this time" Andy laughed nervously.

"The two Alchemy Freaks" Tris elaborated.

"So, you two are here for your final step" Sig said pleasantly. "Come in. Izumi would like to see you."

The two kids followed Sig into the house, and towards the dinning room. Suddenly, a small male child zipped by them, his arms wide, making airplane noises. They looked up to see Izumi sitting at the dinner table, along with an unfamiliar red-haired woman, who wore her cherry hair in a side braid. Another little boy sat in her lap.

"Andy! Tris!" Izumi said, perking up from a seminally deep conversation with the red-haired woman. "This is a pleasant surprise!"

"Hey, Grandma" Andy said pleasantly. She wouldn't turn on the scary yet, so there was nothing to fear. "How's it going?"

"Who's she?" Tris asked, referring to the red-haired woman.

"Oh, this is Isabella Jacobs." Izumi said. "She's a new neighbor of ours. Just moved here from Creta."

"Awesome!" Tris chimed. "I've never met someone from Creta before"

"I moved in about a month ago" Isabella said in a crisp, Cretan accent. "I came here to raise my sons. They're rambunctious, and maybe to wild for the Cretan education system."

"Well, they certainly have energy" Tris remarked, looking at the little boy running like a madman, and the baby struggling to get out of his mothers lap.

"Andy and Tris here used to be just as crazy" laughed Izumi. "I remember Andy's terrible two's. I'm glad he got out of that phase. They're calmer now"

"I hope my boys will someday be a little calmer someday." Isabella laughed. "It will be a lot easier on me, definitely. It's hard to raise them on my own"

"You mean there's no dad?" Andy blurted out before he could stop himself.

Isabella got a sad and distant look in her eyes. "He died not long before I moved to Amestris. But it's ok. Izumi's offered to help me take care of my children. So it should be a lot easier on me now."

Isabella stood up. "Now, I'd better get going." She said, grabbing her purse up from the table, and balancing the baby on her hip. "I can't interrupt the quality time between you and your grandmother. Come along now, Marcus." She called out to her other boy, holding out her hand for him to go grab. "It's time to go"

"Awww!" The boy whined in disappointment. "But I like it here, mommy! Mr. and Mrs. Curtis are really nice! And they're house smells like sausage!"

"Come on Marcus. I can make you sausage when we get home, if you'd like" Isabella prompted.

"Alright, mommy" Marcus said reluctantly, taking his mothers hand as she began to guid him out the house. "But I want a really big sausage! Like, bigger than out house!"

"I don't think that there is a sausage that big anywhere." Isabella informed her son.

As soon as the small family left, Izumi turned to the Elric kids. "Alright, what are you here for? The rest of the family isn't here so it isn't just a visit"

Andy and Tris quickly stiffened. Getting to the point was a sign that she was transitioning from Grandma mode to Scary mode.

"I think I've learned all the alchemy I can manage to learn so far" Andy told her. "I'm ready for the final step. Tris just decided to come with me"

"So, you want me to teach you alchemy." Izumi stated. "What can I possibly teach you two that you don't already know?" She asked seriously.

"Life lessons, apparently" Andy told her.

"I see." She mused. "Alright then, I wan't the two of you to spend—"

"One month on Yock Island!" Tris interrupted, finishing Izumi's sentence. "And you want us to figure out what 'one is all, and all is one' means."

"No." Izumi said. "You'd think I'd give you _that_ to figure out? You're fathers have already taught you that, didn't they?"

"Well, yeah," Andy replied. "But then what do you want us to do."

Izumi turned to her husband. "Darling, we need a rental car. We're taking these kids to the 'fun place'" She said.

Tris and Andy had a foreboding feeling that the place she was taking them to would be the opposite of 'fun'"

* * *

Wherever Izumi was taking them, it somehow ended up being the longest car ride they ever had. Currently, they where somewhere in the middle of the desert, for whatever reason.

"Maybe we're going to Xing" Said Andy.

"That'd be nice" Tris said. "We could give Uncle Ling a visit"

"You're not going to Xing" Izumi shouted at them from the drivers seat.

It was night time when they finally reached their destination. The Xerxes ruins.

The kids where let off by a well, filled up with cold water. The two of them looked around at their surroundings. It was sand. Sand everywhere, and some other ruins.

"You know the drill" Izumi told them, as she tossed them a dagger in it's sheath. "30 days. No alchemy. Don't die. And I wan't you to answer this question; 'What is Balance?'"

At this, Izumi jumped back into the car, rolled the window down part way, and gave them a wave. "Bye!" She said, before driving off without them.

Andy and Tris stood there, dumbfounded. "Did she really just leave us in the middle of the desert?" Andy asked.

"You gotta be kidding me" Tris moaned. She then turned to her brother. "Any idea what balance is?"

"Equivalent exchange?" He theorized.

"Naw. That's to obvious." Tris remarked. "It's gotta be something more complicated than that." Suddenly a large growl erupted from both their stomachs. The two siblings fell down to their knees in defeat.

"WE'RE DEAD!" They simultaneously cried out into the night.

* * *

Yuri placed a screw into an automail leg he'd been working on making, and tightened it up. His work spewed across the kitchen table. His father sat next to him, and his mother was cooking dinner.

"I wonder how Andy and Tris are doing," Yuri muttered.

"You know, you could've gone with them" Ed told his youngest child.

"What's the point?" Yuri responded. "I couldn't care less about alchemy. I'd just be dragging my feet in a place I don't belong, all to break into a bond that's more secure than Central Bank"

"Yuri" Ed grabbed his sons chin and pulled it in his direction, looking him in the eye. "You're siblings love you. Don't forget that."

Yuri stopped working for a second. "I know they love me. I'm they're brother. How can they not?" He let out a sigh. "They just love each other more than they love me. I can already see it. They're gonna go off on all these adventures. Have all sorts of fun. And they'll leave me in the dust. I can't be there for them like they are there for each other."

"Not exactly." Ed told his son. Yuri looked confused at this statement. "Andy and Tris don't exactly need you in the same way they need each other. They need each other to be the fellow adventurer, the person they lean on when things get too rough. You, on the other hand though, they need you to be the home that they return to. Because at the end of the day, no matter what they go out and do, they will always come back to you. Because you give them that sense of home and comfort that they won't be able to give each other."

Yuri smiled. "I guess that's ok" He said.

"It may not feel like enough" Winry chimed in. Yuri looked up to his mother. "When they're out and about, and you're here, you'll wish that you where with them. But when they come home to you, asking for a tune-up, or a home cooked meal, or maybe just some emotional support, you'll see how much they really need you. And it will give you a happiness you can't get anywhere else."

* * *

Andy and Tris laid on the ground, looking up at the starts, they're stomachs growling. The two of them felt miserable. And it was only Day 3.

"How much longer will we have to do this?" Andy asked.

"We got about 27 more days." Tris stated. "That's not to bad"

"Not that bad! We hadn't had any food in three damn days!" Andy complained.

"Well, it's not like we looked that hard for food" Tris justified.

"We don't know how to hunt!" Andy whined. "That damn lady! I mean, doesn't she know heats bad for automail?"

"That's why she parked us next to cold water" Tris told him.

"Water makes you rust" Andy reminded his sister.

"If you dry it right after you leave the bath you're usually fine. I know my automail maintenance." Tris droned.

Andy let out a groan. Three days and he was already done with this place. "And seriously. Why the Xerxes ruins?"

"Well, if she wanted to just dump us in the middle of the goddamn desert, it better have been in a place with shade and shelter. I mean, comparatively, this is better than what dad and uncle Al got. Mason hasn't shown up disguised as a demon beast yet, and the ruins give us shade and shelter, and we have immediate access to clean water. What else do we need?"

"Food"

The two kids stopped talking at the mention of the one thing they where missing. A stomach growl erupted from them. "I wish I brought a hair tie" Tris said. "My hair is so hot"

"I wish we knew how to hunt" Andy muttered.

"What do we know about desert animals?" Tris asked.

"They usually come out at night I guess. Night is cooler." Andy recalled.

"Then we should get hunting. We can sleep in the daytime" Tris said, sitting up.

For the next hour, the two kids scoured the ruins, searching for any bits of food they could find. They came across some barbary sheep, and some lizards, both where to fast for them to catch. They also came across a large snake, which they ran away from before they found out what kind it was. They saw a few plants, most of them didn't look edible, and by the time morning came, they where back to square one.

Tris and Andy laid on their backs inside the ruins of some house of sorts.

"What if that snake comes back to kill us?" Tris asked Andy.

"Simple, we kill it first" Andy told her, but he didn't sound to sure of his answer. "Snake meat taste good, don't you think?" He asked desperately.

"Dad taught us how to make snares when we where younger. Do you still remember how?" Tris asked.

"Somewhat" Andy replied. "But we would need something to make rope. There's no vines or anything here that can act as it."

Tris sat up, an idea coming to her. She didn't exactly like the idea, but it was the best bet they had. "Maybe we don't need vines as rope." She said. "Can you hand me the knife?"

"Sure." Andy said, handing the dagger to his little sister. "Why do you want it?"

Once Tris had the knife, she walked over to the well, where the two kids had kept their tally's of the amount of days they'd been there on the rim. Looking at her reflection in the shine of the water, she gathered up her hair in her hands, as if she was making a pony tail. Taking the dull side of the knife and resting it on the back of her neck, she then used the knife to saw through her hair.

Andy looked at his sister in shock. "Tris! What are you doing?!" He shouted, running over to her.

"I'm cutting it off. It's too hot and too heavy, and it can make a good recourse" She told him, sawing through the final strands. In her right hand was the knife, and in her left hand was the long hair strands that used to be attached to her head. On her head was a new batch of short hair. Andy was shocked that she did that, but he liked her short hair. It made her look wild and free. It made her look more like herself.

"But Tris, you love your hair," Said Andy, still shocked that his sister would even _think_ about touching her long platinum locks with a blade.

"But I love my life more" Tris explained. "And right now, if we're gonna survive and complete initiation, we need tools to catch food."

Back in the house ruins they made their fortress, Andy and Tris gathered strands of the cut off hair and braided them together, then tying off both ends with other strands of hair.

"A simple hair strand it breakable, but put multiple strands together, and you got a rope strong enough to snare an animal. My hair was really long, so we got a lot of it to work with. By the time we're done, we shout have more then twelve feet of this stuff." Tris explained.

Once they where done, they had a long, blond rope to work with. Tris grabbed the thing that was once on her head. She looked excited. "Let's go get ourselves some food!" She cheered.

The two kids set up a trap near the place they had seen the sheep the night before. It wasn't a fancy snare; their new rope tied in a slip knot, and thrown over a piece of wall, where Andy and Tris sat behind, waiting for an animal to walk by so they could pull the rope. But they had a newfound confidence. Four days without food was killer, and they where both thinner then ever, but they had a new found confidence. They where going to get some food!

An hour later, nothing came. The sun started to set, and there was still nothing. Nighttime hit, and not a sheep in sight.

"Maybe we went to the wrong area" Tris said.

"No, I swore we saw those sheep around this ruin" Andy said. "We just don't get luck"

However, as he said this, a sheep came wondering around the corner, and one of it's legs stood right in the middle of their trap.

"Andy pull!" Tris whispered to her brother.

They pulled up the rope, capturing they're animal. Andy pulled held the rope steady while Tris ran at it with the knife. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at the animal while she killed it. "Sorry, creature" She whispered to it, as she plunged the knife inside its body.

That night, the two kids had a nice meal of lamb chops. They ate a bit of the sheep, and then Andy wrapped the rest of the meat in his shirt to preserve it. They drank some water from the well, and, their bellies full, finally enjoyed a good night of sleep.

* * *

Izumi loaded the Curtis Meats truck with different types of meat. It would soon be delivered off to Central, where one of their chain shops where. Isabella, along with her two boys, happened to be taking a walk around that area.

"Hello Izumi!" She shouted to her friend. "Need a hand?"

"Mommy! That truck smells funny" Marcus said.

"It's a meat truck. It's gonna smell funny" Izumi told him.

"But I thought meat smelled good" He said, confused.

"Cooked meat smells good. Raw meat smells funny" Izumi explained.

"Meat is weird" The boy remarked.

Isabella sat her baby down by the truck, and started to help Izumi with the load. Marcus attempted to climb into the truck.

"So, Izumi, where are the children that came to visit you?" She asked.

"They wanted me to teach them alchemy. So they're off doing their initiation" Izumi explained.

Isabella laughed. "So, you left them on Yock for the month like you did to their father?" Izumi had told her the story about Ed and Al. She would talk about those two boys as much as Isabella would talk about her own.

"No, that's already been done" Izumi told her.

"So where are they?" Asked Isabella.

"I dropped them off at the Xerxes ruins." Izumi said casually, as if it was normal to leave children in the middle of the desert.

Isabella stood their wide-eyed and open mouthed. "You left them in the middle of the desert?!" She cried, shocked. "But the girl! She has automail. And there's barely any life in the desert, and what about water!?"

"I left them next to a well." Izumi told her. "And there's plenty of desert animals. You just need to know how to look for them. As for Tris's automail, she's good with her maintenance. Automail is one of her passions, she wouldn't leave it to rust or damage. Besides, it's not like they're alone. They have Macen looking after them."

"But didn't Macen try to kill their dad and his brother?" Isabella asked.

"Not this time. He's just staying out of sights, and not bothering them unless he's positive that they're gonna die" Izumi explained. "I'm not that cruel."

"Are those kid's parents ok with that?" Isabella finally asked.

Izumi paused for a second. "Now that I think about it, I don't think they know"

* * *

The kids stay in the desert had gone well. They would hunt in the night, sleep in the day, and one of the two would stay up and keep watch for any snakes or other predators that would come their way. The two of them had to say they where proud of themselves. Tris's automail was still as good as ever, just a little banged up, but nothing some waxing couldn't fix. They had gotten thinner, but they had also gotten stronger. They would snare sheep, different types of reptiles, and sometimes they caught birds. They had even managed to kill a cobra. Soon, they only had seven days left.

"Remember the riddle we where supposed to solve?" Tris asked her brother.

"'What is balance?'" Andy quoted. "To be honest, I hadn't thought about it. It's gotta be deeper than equivalent exchange, and different than 'one is all, and all is one', because we already know this stuff. It wouldn't be a lesson if it was something we already knew"

"A lesson, hmm? I honestly didn't think of the riddle as a lesson" Tris told Andy. "I thought it was some complicated part of alchemy. Not a lesson."

"Dad said we'd be going to her to learn life lessons, though, didn't he?" Andy reminded Tris. "I think this is one of them. Balance has to be something to do with life"

"Life huh?" Mused Tris. "You know, I cut my hair off to make rope, and that saved our lives, didn't it? We then had the proper recourses to catch animals. But when you think about it, my hair wasn't that much of a sacrifice. It was just a bunch of dead cells growing out of my head. If we payed an equivalent exchange, then, say, I would've killed you and ate your meat to survive. One life for one life."

"But we hadn't lost our lives yet" Andy remarked. "So if we think about it like that, you lost your hair for nothing, because we weren't taking back anything."

"We were only defending something that was ours," Tris finished. "Then there is no equal exchange, no matter how you look at it."

"What did we get in return. I mean, only a year and a half ago, you lost an entire arm, and what did you get back? A hunk of metal and some confirmation that your theory on automail transmutation was correct. What else did you gain?"

"I got stronger, that's what I gained," Tris stated. "More determined, more confident, and maybe even happier. Happier to know that I can overcome these things"

"Is that what balance is?" Andy asked. "Turning pain into progress, and sacrifice into strength?"

"Balance isn't exactly giving something up and getting something equal in return." Tris realized.

"It's building our own scale. It's getting something small, that couldn't mean more to you, for a large sacrifice, or sacrificing something trivial, and keeping something you would've lost otherwise."

"It's getting a small amount of happiness, to make up for the loss. It's getting a bit stronger, after sacrificing a part of yourself. It's becoming something new, something better than what you where before, as a reward for enduring pain."

"Or loosing something, to keep something else" Andy finished. "In a sense, balance is what you put in, and how much you value what you receive. You might not get something equal to what you loss, but you will hang on to it with all your might, and you will always cherish it, because you know you gave a lot, to get that one little thing. That is balance"

* * *

Day 30. It was day 30. The two kids couldn't have been more happy. They had a decent breakfast of leftover meat roasted in soup, and spent the rest of the time cleaning up their camp sight. All they had was the dagger, their clothes, a few chunks of meat, and some wood they had collected from the moss and branches that grew over the ruins. Tris slang the rope that used to be her hair over her shoulder.

"I wonder what to do with this stuff now" She said, gesturing to the rope.

Andy shrugged. "Souvenir?" He suggested.

Soon the black car that was their ride home came driving into the desert. Izumi stepped out of the drivers seat and approached the two kids. She gave them a smile.

"How was it?" She asked.

"As good as being left in the middle of the desert is ever gonna be, I guess" Andy replied.

"I like the new hair, Tris" Izumi complimented.

"Thanks. I like it too" She said.

"So, do you have the answer? What is Balance?"

"Balance is giving something up to receive something else." Andy explained.

"It may not always be an equal trade" Tris elaborated, "But it's something. You turn pain to progress, and sacrifice to strength."

"You can get knocked down, but you grow back up." Andy finished.

"THAT IS BALANCE!" The two kids shouted simultaneously.

Izumi smiled. "If I could do anything over again. I would have taught your father and uncle that. If you keep it in mind, the fact that your pain will someday become strength, you can overcome whatever is currently knocking you down. It is part of a flow. As soon as you loose sight of it, you will go against the flow, and you will receive pain."

The two kids looked at each other and smiled. They kept that in their heads. It would all turn out ok.

"Now, get in the car. The real training is about to begin!"

Andy and Tris sat in the back of the car, and Izumi climbed into the drivers seat. She then, for whatever reason, gave the horn a loud honk. After a long pause, Mason then climbed into the front seat next to Izumi.

"Hey! You're back!" Mason cheered.

"MASON!" The two kids shouted from the back in shock.

"You where here the whole time and we never saw or even _noticed_ you?!" Andy shouted in disbelief.

"What are you? Some sort of ninja?" Tris asked.

Mason gave them a guilty smile. "Maybe" He said in a sing-song voice. The kids weren't sure wether or not to believe him.

* * *

The next six months consisted of training, sparing, periodic family visits, more training, more sparing, and alchemy teaching. The kids where surprised to say that they enjoyed it. Tris was able to run her equation by Izumi, and, unexpectedly, made progress on it. The kids learned new concepts about alchemy, and better understood the art that they where perusing. And soon, before they knew it, the next day they would be driving back to Risimbule, Alchemy training fresh in their pocket.

Tris drew an equation on the floor with chalk.

"What are you doing?" Andy asked.

"I wanted to make a gift for mom" Tris told him. "You've always been the one to make mom gifts, since you've always been out and about learning all sorts of alchemy. Now that I'm good at alchemy too, I want to make mom something"

Once Tris was finished with the circle, she, oddly enough, put what looked like cow hide in the middle of he circle. She then added a bowl of pink dye, a chunk of plastic and a tangled up bawl of sewing thread. She transmuted all her ingredients together, creating a pink, nice-looking leather jacket, complete with pockets and a zipper down the front. Tris picked it up and observed it.

"It's nice for traveling. And I made it so it would let air into it, so she could wear it when she goes down to Rush Valley for automail deliveries. It looks nice, doesn't it?"

"It does look nice" Andy said. "I'm almost jealous it's going to mom and not to me." At this remark, Tris suddenly looked crestfallen. "What?" Her brother asked.

"If you like it, and you have the terrible taste that you do, then that means it looks terrible" She whined.

"No it doesn't!" Andy snapped. "And I have a great sense of style, who are you to talk!"

"It's a terrible jacket! Mom will never like it!"

"Just because I like something, doesn't mean the rest of the world won't!"

"WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP! I'M TRYING TO DO PAPERWORK!" Came an angry shout from Izumi from the other room. The kids remained quite after that.

* * *

A knock on the door told Ed that the kids where home. He wasn't expecting Izumi to be there along with them.

"Teacher!" He shouted in shock.

"I came to drop your kids off. They've gotten pretty good"

Izumi ended up staying the night in Risimbule. She and Winry got into a slight argument upon hearing that Izumi had left Winry's kids in the middle of the desert, but after realizing that Tris's automail was completely fine, and the kids didn't suffer too much, she let it slide. Tris gave Winry the jacket, which Winry loved, ("I told you she'd like it, Tris" Andy said). Andy and Tris showed off their new alchemy talents in front of Yuri, and then all three of them discussed the new additions to Tris's automail equations. Eventually, they had dinner, and the kids went up to go to bed. Andy, however, stayed to discuss something.

"Hey, mom, dad." He started. "I think I want to become a state alchemist."

The three adults where silent. "And why would you wan't to do that?" Izumi asked.

"Because I wan't to use my talents. And further my research. And I wan't to learn more, and learn every type of alchemy there is to learn! If I stop perusing my goal, then I'm lost" Andy told them.

Ed looked at Winry, and then at his teacher. "Wait until you're sixteen, kid. We'll discuss it then"

* * *

 _Three Years Later_

Eventually, Andy turned sixteen. And they discussed it. Ed made a few phone calls with Fuhrer Armstrong, who had began her forth term, and was still running the country strong. She explained to him what the state alchemist protocol was; that if someone underaged wanted to become a state alchemist and pursue their own research, they could, but a State Alchemist, or any soldier for that matter, would not be allowed to go out onto the fields of battle until he was twenty-two years old, and underaged State Alchemist weren't permitted to help solve problems that could pose a danger to their life until they became a legal adult. Even then, becoming an underaged State Alchemist was nearly impossible, as they would perform their Alchemy in front of the Fuhrer herself, and she had to be _really_ impressed to even consider letting the child become one. If they did become a state alchemist, every month, they had to fill out reports about what they had been doing, and send those reports to their parents/guardians. If they didn't report, or if the parents didn't like what the kid was doing, the kid would immediately be revoked of his license. In the end, after much discussion, Ed and Winry felt that the terms where ok, and as long as Andy wasn't out doing anything dangerous, he should be allowed to continue his research on all the types of alchemy there was.

Andy said his final goodbyes to Tris and Yuri at the house, since he knew that they wouldn't be able to get Tris anywhere near the train platform. Tris was now 13, and still kept her hair short, as she discovered that she liked her short hair, and lost interest in growing it out. Yuri was 11, and was allowed to grow his hair out long, so he kept his hair in a thin, small pony tail at the back of his head. Tris and Yuri where still short, but Andy had taken pride in the fact that he had hit a growth spurt, and was now really tall (he never failed to remind his younger siblings of this). Ed was proud of his kids. They had really groan.

Andy grabbed his suit case and started to head out of the house. "Well, guys, I'm off!"

"You better get that watch, Andy!" Tris told him. "And share with me whatever research you happen to find, too!"

"And try to get less awkward around Elizabeth" Yuri teased. "You two are meant to be together, you just gotta man up and go for it"

"Yuri!" Andy groaned. "Come on! Our relationships gotten a bit better. We're good friends now"

"So get out of the friend zone" Yuri said. "It's simple. I did it with Amethyst"

"Amethyst dumped you after the first date" Andy reminded Yuri.

"That's not the point" Yuri snapped.

"Go at your own pace" Tris told her brother. "But don't kiss unless I'm there to see it"

"I'm not kissing Lizzie in front of you" Andy said plainly.

"If getting a license takes a while, come and pay us a visit, ok?" His mom asked.

"I will" Andy said, as he began to walk out.

"Andy, aren't you forgetting something?" His dad asked.

Andy backtracked. He had his suitcase, he gave hugs and kisses to his entire family. What could he possibly be missing?

Ed held up a familiar, slightly worn out with tattered sleeves, red hooded coat, with the black symbol for alchemy on the back.

"You're coat!" Andy said in surprise. "You mean, it's mine?"

"I wouldn't be giving it to you otherwise!" Ed laughed. Andy laughed back, ran forwards, and had his dad put the coat on him. He then turned and gave him a hug. The rest of the family soon followed suit.

"Thanks!" He said. "It's the best coat ever!"

Once all five of them broke apart, Andy grabbed his suitcase and ran out the door.

"See you all! Love you!" He shouted to them. "My final step awaits!"

* * *

 **Ta-da! Hoped you liked this chapter. I hope it was _at least_ somewhat shorter than the last two. But if it wasn't, feel free to call me out on it. **

**For the Xerxes desert, I based it and it's terrain/wildlife off of the Sahara desert. And as for Isabella, I imagine Creta to be Italy's equivalent, so you can imagine her with an Italian accent.**

 **I hope everyone was in character, and that everything was smooth and consistent. Most things/concepts discussed in this chapter will be making a comeback later, so we'll be seeing Isabella and her two boys again. And we'll be later exploring more of the dynamics between the Elric siblings. Also, small details might become relevant, so pay close attention to those, too!**

 **As for next chapter, we will finally be jumping into the main plot! (Yay!) Cora McGravin will return, more dangerous than ever before, Andy will be 18, and taking on military missions and cases, and a new character will be introduced.**

 **I hope you like it!**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	7. Chapter 7: Show No Fear

**Hi. MotherUniverse here with the newest FMA afterstory chapter!**

 **Hamsterboy3** **, thanks for the reviews! And if it takes you a while to catch up, that's ok. You're always welcome here. And if it makes you feel better, I've been forgetting to apply your corrections for the last few chapters (I need to give myself a reminder), so your fine. My goal is to make a perfect chapter, and your help will always be welcome.**

 **Just in case there was confusion, the State Alchemist program for minors is basically a chance to get more research/field experience. Kids under 18 aren't allowed to go out doing dangerous things like Ed and Al did. It's a research opportunity, not a soul selling thing.**

 **As for Andy's state license test, there was a test, and it was observed by the Fuhrer herself. I haven't made it a part of this chapter, or the last, because it's an important flashback that will come later. Another important flashback that will come later are the events surrounding the Elric family portrait in the end of Brotherhood. This will also be an important flashback later. I promis I didn't forget any details.**

 **I still don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. And I probably never will. Sorry. I do, however, own the Galiana's, Cora McGravin, and Aunt Mimia's pie shop**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Show No Fear

* * *

Anina Galiana was a single mother, who had raised her son by herself since his father died. He was currently a healthy 15-year-old boy, her little Roshan.

The two of them where Ishvallan. There wasn't a large percent of Ishvallans who lived outside of their holy lands, but the exceptions were common enough nobody found it weird that the Galiana's lived in the middle of Central. But they liked it there. The people where generally friendly, and Anina found that racism had become less of a problem since the old Fuhrer Grumman initiated the Ishvallan Inclusion Act, and the current Fuhrer was doing all she could to make the Inclusion Act better and better. Things where better now that Fuhrer Bradley and his policy's towards her race weren't standing anymore.

Roshan had an education, knew both his culture and the culture of Amestris well, spoke the Amestrian and the Ishvallan language, and the basics of Xingese. He currently had an apprenticeship under a lead surgeon at Amestris's hospital. She was proud of her son's life. Her goal to make sure he got every chance she lost thanks to the Ishvallan extermination campaign was forfilled.

Currently, the two where walking back to their apartment, their arms stacked full of grocery bags. Roshan had grown his hair out, and wore it back in a sleek, smooth, pony tail. It was a contrast to her pixie cut. However, if Anina ever regretted anything, it was choosing today to go grocery shopping.

They walked down the ally way that lead to their apartment. A woman with short black hair and blue eyes was leaning by the wall. She looked casual enough; white tennis shoes, white jeans, a purple tee-shirt, and a white hat clothed her body. But those who saw her tattooed hands would know that she was anything but ordinary.

"It's courageous of you two to be walking out in plane day. Haven't you heard that there's a killer on the loose, targeting Ishvallans?" The woman said to the small family.

The Ishvallan killer was currently the news' biggest story. But the killer seemed to be moving down South; nowhere near where the two of them lived. "I've heard." Anina told the woman. "But he's been down in the Southern area. I don't feel any danger walking out in the open" Anina said, watching the woman carefully. There was something about her she didn't like. She started to turn around and walk away, a bit quicker than before.

"You've got a small detail wrong about the killer" The woman said from behind her. Anina tried to keep walking, but she noticed that Roshan had stopped to look at the woman. _Oh no, he's doing it again!_ She thought. Anina put her groceries down and tried to pull on her sons wrist. She needed to get him away from this woman.

"You called the Ishvallan killer a 'he'" The woman said, standing in the way of the ally's exit, outstretching her hands. "Fun fact; the killer's a 'she'" The woman clapped her tattooed hands together, and placed them on the ground. The ground began to explode and break apart, causing dust clouds to form.

"RUN!" She yelled to her child, grabbing his wrist and pulling him along. The two ran down the ally, trying to get to their apartment. It was to similar; the alchemy, the black hair and crazed blue eyes, the stance, the fear of no escape; to similar to the way her home was destroyed, back when she was 12. She wouldn't let her son go through the same thing. He _couldn't_.

"Mom, what was that?!" He asked frantically.

"That, Roshan, is why I don't like alchemy" She told him.

"Who is she?" He yelled.

"I think she's the Ishvallan killer," His mom answered simply.

"But I thought the Ishvallan killer was down south!" He cried.

"Well, I guess she doesn't follow a direct pattern!" Anina said. Soon the two came to a fork in the ally.

"Split up!" She commanded.

"But mom—" He tried to protest.

"Roshan. Trust me. She can't follow us both. That direction leads to the surface street! Go! Find help!" She gave her son a push, and he broke into a mad dash. "I love you Roshan!" She yelled after him.

The Ishvallan killer had Anina in her sights. Anina had made sure of that. She had to direct the killers focus to her.

Anina ran down the other side of the ally, the opposite of Roshan. Just as she had hoped, the killer followed her. Anina continued to run, hoping to run into either the MP's or maybe a crowd. She knew the ally well, and was able to avoid dead ends. That was, until the killer broke the ground. Anina fell into the sewers, the grimy water filling her lungs. She quickly stood up, taking a gulp of air, and climbed out onto the narrow walkway that lined the water, trying to catch her breath. She looked around, about to run, when something dropped onto her, landing on her back. Two shoes dug into her spine. The killer was standing on top of her. The woman grabbed Anina's arms and pulled them back, rendering her defenceless.

"Who are you?! Why are you doing this!?" Anina shouted at her.

"Well, my names Cora McGravin, if you must know," The killer said happily, "though I don't think it will be much use to you now. And as for the why. Well, let's just say me and my friends have a job to do, and we want to get the nostalgia flowing"

"You're friends?" Anina said in surprise.

"You think I'm a loner? Well, it doesn't matter what you think. Either way, you're dead"

McGravin clapped her hands together.

"Roshan, I'm so sorry" Anina managed to say, before her body was blown to pieces.

* * *

Alexander Elric had turned 18 around eight months ago, and now was a full-fledged member of the military. No longer a rank equivalent to a Major, but an actual Major, Andy was assigned missions, placed on different cases, and sent out to help the people. This meant, unfortunately for him, that he had to wear the cruddy uniform. Even so, he wore his fathers red coat on top of it, and wouldn't take it off, even if the Fuhrer herself commanded it. Besides this, Major Andy Elric was proud to be in the military, especially since he had his state license. He had been assigned a few difficult task over the months of being 18, but nothing to difficult for him to master.

He was the Universal Alchemist, after all.

Now that he was an official Major, he was able to have his own team. While he worked under General Mustang (he was pretty sure Fuhrer Armstrong made him work under Mustang's team _just_ to spite him), he still had his own crew of five; His partner, Second Lieutenant Elicia Hughes, Warrant Officer Yuki Ace, Sargent Lance Morgan, and, most recently joined, Private Elizabeth Hawkeye-Mustang, and of course, himself. Elicia was an efficient partner and a hard worker, and her ever-growing optimism helped keep up the teams spirit. Yuki was smart and serious, and willing to take on any task. Lance was slightly insane, but good with anything electronic, and of course, Lizzie was still his supportive best friend, who always had the teams back. Andy still had a crush on her, even though it never developed into more than a tight friendship. But at least he was no longer extremely awkward around her.

The team was well known for their violation of the military dress coat. Andy wore his jacket, Elicia never buttoned her over-shirt, showing off her zany t-shirts underneath, Lance didn't tuck his pants into his boots, and Lizzie wore stiletto boots under the skirted version of the uniform. The only member of the team who didn't break the dress code was Yuki. The team was young and ambitious, wether their goal was to learn more or to rise through the ranks, or just to go out and help people, they all worked hard, and tried their best, making sure to never leave an assigned case unsolved.

This was why Mustang had put Andy's team in charge of solving the Ishvallan Murderer case. Well, in charge was a loose term. Andy's team was more of a forensic's crew.

Andy stood in the sewers, below the broken ground. What used to be a body was now nothing more than a blood splotch and some excess flesh. Andy had his team, and the MP's spend, spend half an hour to find as many of the body bits as possible. He would need all of them for what he was about to do. They placed the bits at the blood splot.

"Hughes, do you have the gloves?" Andy asked his partner. Andy had multiple fanny packs which stored different gloves with different circles. However, some pairs he had Elicia carry, since he didn't have any more room on his body to store them.

Elicia placed a pair of gloves in his hand. Each glove had one half of a special type of reverse transmutation circle.

"Lizzie, you haven't seen my reverse transmutation yet, have you?" He said, clapping his hands together, and placing them onto the body bits.

They started to reshape. "This process takes whatever was changed by alchemy and reverts it back to it's original state. You need all the parts of what it once was, but it works with any type of matter"

The parts reformed into that of an Ishvallan woman's body. Every detail, from face to hair, was still there. There where bits of her missing, but enough facial detail to identify the one killed, and hopefully finger prints to identify the killer.

The team helped Andy drag the body out of the sewers, after marking off the spot for the MP's to scan for further detail. They placed the body into a black body bag, but before they could zip it up, a young boy took notice of it.

"Mom?" He said quietly. The members of Andy's team turned around to look at this boy. He was an Ishvallan, wearing a large light yellow sweater, and had his long white hair in a pony tail. The boy fell to his knee's, tears streaming down his face. He didn't sob, or scream, or say anything. He just sat there, looking at the ground in shock, as more tears continued to fall.

* * *

"I got the finger prints" Andy said to Mustang, handing him the document that contained said finger print information.

"Good work, Universal" Mustang told him, grabbing the paper and giving it a read. Andy grumbled under the nickname. Mustang had a habit of calling the Elrics by their State nickname. His dad was 'Fullmetal', and now he was 'Universal'. His kids would probably receive the same pattern in nicknaming, if Mustang didn't die of old age before meeting them.

Mustang looked at the fingers in slight surprise. "The prints of our Ishvallan killer, it's the same as the once we found during the Train incident 18 years ago" He explained.

"The Train incident?" Andy said in surprise. His parents had told him about the assassination attempt a man known as General Train made on the Fuhrer during her crowning. Andy wasn't told much else about the situation; he wasn't told much about anything his parents went through; but he found in some reported files and documents that his dad had taken a bullet to the head in attempts to save the Fuhrer. It was a miracle he was still alive. "I thought that case was marked 'unsolvable'" He said.

"Well, a lot of strange incidents have popped up over the years." Mustang said. "We still don't know where the red-haired man that attacked during your parents wedding parade went. Not to mention random incidents resulting in small death popping up all over Amestris"

"And we still don't know who was behind the train explosion that took Tris's arm" Andy grumbled. One of the first things he did when becoming a State Alchemist at 16 was looking into the train explosion, to find out it wasn't the train itself that caused the blow up, but a bomb that was snuck onto the train. They had found evidence of a suicide bombing: What might have been a woman's charred corps was found, with explosive molecule combinations traced on her body. The woman however, was unidentifiable, just like the finger prints of the Ishvallen killer.

"On the bright side, we have a witness" Mustang said, referring to the boy who was most likely the victims son, who they had brought into Central Command. However, the boy remained in a state of shock, and they couldn't get him to snap out of it. "We just have to wait until he comes to"

* * *

Mustang's new office had it's personal privet space, and whichever sub-team of his needed it at the time was allowed to use it. Currently, Andy and his team was using the office to shift through paperwork and find some sort of connection or pattern of the Ishvallan Killer.

Andy never liked paperwork. Neither did Elicia, or Yuki, or Lance, or Lizzie. Basically, his entire team was filled with paperwork-hating young people who didn't take the dress code seriously. He honestly wondered how they ever got a task done.

Another distraction that often occurred was the random but frequent drop-in of Tris. Ever since she gotten her learners permit (14 and 1/2) she would drive herself down to Central to visit her big brother and the rest of his team. Andy wasn't a fan of her underaged driving (she had her permit, not her license), but Tris would bend the rules if it meant she could show up out of nowhere and annoy her older brother.

"YO!" Tris shouted, throwing the door open as hard as possible, so that it slammed loudly against the wall. The short-haired, gold-eyed girl stood in the doorframe, sporting a black tank top, blue skirt, black leggings that cut off just after the knees, loose brown boots, and no socks. (she had developed a burning hatred for socks. Andy didn't exactly know why)

"Tris!" Andy snapped. "I'm doing something important"

"More important than my special day?" Tris questioned.

Andy turned red. How could he possibly forget what today was?

"What do you mean 'special day'?" Yuki asked from her desk.

"Today is..." Tris started, giving a swirl. She seemed to sparkle, a feat which Andy had thought was only possible for the Armstrong family, and it was if a drumroll played in the background, "MY 15TH BIRTHDAY!" She cheered loudly. "And I'm spending this special day here in Central"

"Where's mom, dad, and Yuri then?" Andy asked Tris.

"Oh, they're in Rush Valley" She said. "They're gonna take the train to Central. So I took a rental car and drove here early." Tris explained. "It's gonna be great!" She began to rant. "Mom's bringing Paninia along, Henkel and Darius's circus is in town, so they're gonna pay me a visit too, along with Jerso and Zampano. And of course Uncle Al, Aunt May and Nina are coming along. Along with the Hawkeye-Mustangs, we can't forget about them. And you know the best part?"

"What's the best part?" Andy asked with a slight groan. He didn't want to ruin his sister's special day, but he _really_ needed to get back to work.

"UNCLE LING IS COMING ALL THE WAY FROM XING FOR MY BIRTHDAY!" She cheered. "He's never came for my birthday before! And we haven't seen him since last year! And we'll get to see Aunt Lan Fan, and Bei, and Rin, and Fu!"

"You know, last time Ling's family came over half of Risimbule was destroyed," Andy reminded her.

"To be fair, you started that fight," Tris stated.

"Sure I started it, but it was Bei who used the explosives" Andy countered. "Now, I'm trying to solve a case, so find something else to entertain yourself."

"What case are you working on?" Tris asked.

"The Ishvallan Killer. It's important. So go away" Andy replied.

"Can I help?" Tris asked.

Andy quickly came up with a way to satisfy his little sister and get her out of his hair. He felt bad shrugging her off on her birthday (he hated shrugging her off in general), but he really needed to get to work.

"There's a witness who might be able to identify our killer, but he's still in shock from seeing the body. Have Elicia take you to try to snap him out of it." He told her. Who knows? She might be able to.

* * *

Elicia walked Tris down the halls to the questioning room.

"So, who's the witness?" Tris asked.

"An Ishvallan boy. Probably around your age, most likely the son of our victim" Elicia told her. "He called her mom."

"Poor kid" Said Tris. "I don't blame him for being in shock. I was when I lost my arm" Tris said, gesturing to her automail.

"Speaking of automail, how's your equation going?" Elicia asked her.

"So close!" Tris moaned. "But I can't get these few nerves right! They either go to the wrong spot, or don't attach at all. I'm still working out a few bugs, but I'm almost there, I swear it! How's your mom doing?"

"She's fine. The flower shop's prospering, and with my job and steady salary, she should be able to retire anytime she wants to. If I can convince her to take a break from work"

"Cool, how's Riley?" Tris immediately regretted asking her this.

"He's amazing!" Elicia gushed. "He's such a sweetheart! Yesterday he bought me a months supply of chocolate for not just me, but the entire team! Usually the chocolate is gone in 40 seconds, but we still have leftovers thanks to him and his big heart!"

"Well, save some chocolate for me" Tris told her.

The two woman walked into the questioning room, where guards stood around the boy, waiting for him to snap out of it. He sat, staring at his lap, with wide eyes. The poor kid was still in shock. Tris sat in one of the two chairs across from him.

"Is this the kid?" Tris asked for clarification.

"Yep" Elicia said.

"Hey kid." Tris said, waving her automail hand in front of his eyes. "Kiiiiddd! Kid! Wake up" She snapped her fingers under his eyes. Nothing. Tris then took her automail hand, balled it into a fist, and dropped it onto the top of his head. Everyone in the room freaked out.

"You where supposed to snap him out of it not hit him!" Elicia shouted.

"Ow" The boy said quietly.

"It worked" Tris justified.

The boy slowly looked up at Tris, tear stains still in his eyes. _He's cute_ , was the first thought Tris had about him. She felt bad about this thought, but it was true. "Uh, hi!" She stammered out, an awkward smile on her face.

"Hey" The boy said, sounding strained and miserable. "Who are you?"

"I'm Trisha Elric, but you can call me Tris" She said, reaching across to shake the boys hand. He didn't take it, instead keeping his palms in his lap.

"Roshan." He forced out, "Roshan Galiana"

Elicia sat down in the seat next to Tris. "I'm Second Lieutenant Elicia Hughes. I'm going to have to ask you a few questions." Elicia then looked to the fifteen-year-old sitting next to her. "And _she_ is actually not part of this case" She said, pointing to Tris "Tris, leave"

"What?! But I want to help!" Tris complained.

"Wait outside the door. I'll give you something to busy yourself with when your done" Elicia told her. Tris reluctantly obeyed. One the girl was out the door, Elicia turned to Roshan.

"Roshan Galiana, at hour 10 today, we received a call from an MP member that a murder had taken place." Elicia started, getting strait down to business. "We were able to identify the victim as Anina Galiana. Was she your mother?"

"Yeah" Roshan said sadly. "She was a survivor of the Ishvallen Extermination Campaign. She did her best to give me a good life" He started crying. "And now she's gone. I should've tried to save her!" More tears started streaming down his cheeks.

"You did your best in the situation that was given." Elicia said in attempts to assure him, however, she wasn't sure it was working. "But if you can help with this case, in any way, then we might be able to bring your mothers killer to justice" Elicia flipped open a notebook. She wrote down his name, _Roshan Galiana_ , and then went for the rest of the details.

"How old are you?" She asked.

"15" he replied.

"Your mother was identified to be around 40 years old. Is this correct?"

"She was 41, actually. Her birthday was last week" Roshan corrected.

"Where you able to see the killer?" Elicia asked.

"Yeah. I saw her face pretty clearly. She was an alchemist" Roshan offered as detail.

"So our killer is a female, and and an alchemist" Elicia mused, writing it down.

"Can you describe the events surrounding the attack?" Elicia asked.

"My mom and I were out grocery shopping. We were taking the shortcut to our apartment, through the ally ways down near Sixth Avenue. We first saw the woman in the alley between apartments 28 and 29, I think." Roshan told her.

"What was her alchemy like?" Elicia asked.

"I couldn't see the transmutation circles in detail, but they were tattooed to her hands. She clapped them together, and when she touched the ground, it exploded." Roshan described. Elicia wrote these details down. She then turned to the portrait sketcher.

"This is Warrant Officer Tom Ellis. He will be able to draw a detailed portrait of the killer. Can you help him fill out the details?" Elicia asked the boy.

Roshan nodded, and soon he and the Warrant Officer were working to draw the picture. In the picture, the woman's hat helped obscure her features, but not enough to make her unidentifiable. The problem with her was, however, that a woman of her looks held no match to any other person in the database.

"Thank you for your time" Elicia told the boy when they were done. "We would like you to stay on military property until we figure out a place for you to go. If you need help, you may go to any soldier in the area."

Elicia guided the boy out. It was then that she saw Tris, who was leaning against the wall, looking pitifully disappointed. Elicia smiled. "Hey, Tris! She shouted to the girl. "Would you like another job?"

"Sure" Tris said, immediately perking up.

"Take this boy to the cafeteria, and keep an eye on him. And don't leave the property either, ok?" Elicia assigned her.

"Ok." Tris said happily. A job like this was one that Andy would hate, but Tris liked socializing. "Come on!" She said to the boy in question. "I'll show you to the cafeteria"

* * *

Tris stood outside the mens bathroom. Apparently, the kid wasn't feeling to well, and the toilet was required. Tris didn't like standing outside the bathroom waiting for him to come out, but she had to respect boundaries. However, after standing outside for 10 minutes, and hearing some less than pleasant sounds coming from the boy in the bathroom, she decided she should probably go in.

 _Screw boundaries_ , she thought as she entered, hoping that nobody was watching her.

"Hey, Roshan! Are you alright?" She asked upon entering.

She got the violent sound of someone throwing up, what might have been a moan of pain, and a few sobs in response. She walked to the stall he was in, grateful to find it unlocked.

The poor boy looked pitiful. He had tear stains on his face, bloodshot eyes, and drizzles of bile on his chin. Tris felt her heart sink. She didn't like watching people feel sad.

Grabbing a paper towel, she walked over to him and handed the cloth to him so he could wipe his mouth off. She then kneeled down next to him, leaning her back against the stall. "When you feel a bit better, how about we go grab some pie. I know a nice pie shop around here. Pie always makes me feel better." She told him.

"Will it get better?" He asked her, his voice barely above a whisper. "She was a good person. Why was she killed?"

Tris knew he was talking about his mom. She didn't know much about this boy, but she knew how much boy's usually hated crying in front of others, she had her brothers to account for that. He must have been really upset to seek condolence in a girl he just met.

"I don't know" Tris told him.

The boy curled his knees up to his chest. "Now what do I do?" He asked her.

"I don't know that either" Tris responded. "But you'll know eventually, I think." She then gave him a small hug. "I'm sorry"

"It's not your fault." She felt his tears on her skin.

"I know. But I'm apologizing on behalf of the universe. Because it owe's you one." Tris explained. "And I'm also sorry I can't do anything about it."

"You're trying, though" He said. For the first time that day, Tris felt him smile. "So, thank you. And I think I'd like that pie"

* * *

The two new friends walked down the streets of Central. "You know, we were told not to leave the military campus" Roshan reminded Tris.

"But the pie shop's only a block away" Tris told him. "I'm sure they won't mind, as long as we're back before they realize we left" Tris justified.

"I'm starting to think this was a bad idea" Roshan told her.

"Any idea involving pie is never a bad idea" Tris stated.

"I find that doubtful" Roshan quipped.

"Then you've never had Aunt Mimia's pies before" Tris declared. "They're all freshly baked and almost as good as my moms!" Tris suddenly realized that she mentioned her mom, which might've upset Roshan. She looked back at him to see him wearing a sad smile, his eyes hazy. "Oh, I-" She started.

"It's fine" He cut her off. "It's good that you have a mom, and it's good that you love her. Never stop loving her, ok?"

"I promis, I will love both my mom and dad until the day I die" Tris told him. She wouldn't break that promis.

"Good." Roshan said, satisfied.

The two of them eventually bought a pie, and walked back to the command center while eating it. Roshan stopped in front of a poster. Tris walked back to see what he was looking at.

"I forgot the circus came into town today" He laughed.

"Yeah, some friends of mine work at the circus!" Tris said pleasantly. "They were gonna hang out with my family after the show ended. Mostly to celebrate my birthday"

"Today's your birthday?" Roshan asked her.

"Yep! I'm turning 15" She replied.

Roshan looked at the poster, a sad look glossed over his eyes. "Mom would take me to the circus every year it came. I loved it. I forgot we had planned to go this afternoon." Roshan continued to look sadder. "It was nice, watching the show"

A bad feeling arose in Tris's stomach. She didn't plan to go see Henkel and Darius's show, for her own personal reasons, and she probably should have gone back to Central command by now, but, she did wan't to make Roshan feel better.

"If you want to, we can go to the circus together" She said, slightly hesitant. Roshan looked excited, but his face fell slightly when he could see that she was visibly uncomfortable.

"Are you sure?" He asked her.

"Of course!" Tris forced out, trying to hide her discontent with this idea. "I get free tickets every year, so why not use them!"

Roshan gave her a questioning look, but decided to let it slide. He was looking forward to his annual circus trip after all.

* * *

Andy compared the killers portrait to pictures of other people in the documents. If he couldn't identify the woman herself, maybe he could point out a near relative. Then he saw a resemblance; the Kimbely family.

He heard of the eldest male of the Kimbely family: Zolf J. Kimbely. A psychopathic soldier, once known as the Decimeter of Ishval, and the Crimson Alchemist. The man died before Andy was born, which Andy didn't really mind. However, the really creepy part was that the killer looked like a young, female version of Kimbely.

Andy suddenly had a theory. A far-fetched theory at that, but it would explain the motives and the alchemy.

"2nd Lieutenant Hughes, I want you to get me every file you can on any person with the last name of 'Kimbely'" Andy commanded to his partner.

"Sure" Elicia said, walking to the file room to grab them. He liked that she didn't ask any questions; she'd probably think he was crazy if he told her his theory.

There where four members of the most recent known Kimbely family. Zolf Kimbely himself, of course, his parents; Benjamin and Lydia Kimbely, and his deceased elder sister, Maryland Kimbely, who later married and became Maryland McGravin.

"I have your files" Elicia said, putting them onto Andy's desk. The young man started sorting through them, grabbing files and reading them. Most of his focus was on the eldest of the family. Particularly Maryland McGravin's prison record.

 _Name: McGravin, Maryland_

 _Maiden Name: Kimbely, Maryland_

 _Gender: Female_

 _Race: Amestrian_

 _Date: June 6, 1877 to January 12, 1903_

 _Age of death: 25_

 _Family: Kimbely, Benjamin (Father); Kimbely, Lydia (Mother); Kimbely, Zolf (Brother, Younger); McGravin, Joseph (Husband)_

 _Accusation: Killed her husband using alchemy. Continued to kill several others, including parents, list of victims on page 3. Alchemy used caused explosions. Did not deny her crimes. Charged with mass murder and punished by death._

 _Other Details: Alchemy used was of her own research. Younger brother, Zolf Kimbely, is continuing to further her research, under the promis that he will not use it against the law. He is being kept under close watch. Execution date scheduled for May 23, 1902, however, execution was postponed due to McGravin's pregnancy. The child was female, and died soon after birth. More details of the child will be found on page 6._

Andy flipped the documents to page six. He had once heard a vague detail on the Maryland McGravin case; mostly because her pregnancy and postponed execution gave Major General Fokker a nightmare amount of paperwork. Back then, Andy had no idea who he was talking about, nor did he care. He just thought of it as military banter. Now, he was chasing a wild goose; a far-fetched theory based off similarities in looks and in Alchemy.

 _Name: McGravin, Cora_

 _Gender: Female_

 _Race: Amestrian_

 _Date: July 12, 1902_

 _Age of death: 3 days old_

 _Family: McGravin, Maryland (Mother); McGravin, Joseph (Father)_

 _Circumstances surrounding Death: Was involved in the Hospital Massacre of 1902. Killer's known as the Slicer Brothers attacked and killed 13 citizens, varying from workers to patients (list of victims on Slicer Brothers Investigation Documents, page 59). Rumored to have had unknown accomplice with them, but it has not been confirmed. Child assumed dead, however, body was never found._

"The body was never found" Andy whispered to himself, his impossible theory starting to prove itself right. "Lieutenant Hughes, come take a look at this"

Elicia picked up the papers Andy handed to her and read through them. "You think this 'Cora McGravin' is our Ishvallen killer?" She said, her voice betraying her disbelief.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but it does explain a few things" Andy grabbed the documents back from his partner. "It explains her motives, and her alchemy. Plus, if I'm right, we have a name to associate her with. She's out killing Ishvallens because that was her uncles job, so she's now out finishing it. Her family is filled with psychopaths, which explains her killing streak, and if the alchemy is the same as Crimson Alchemy, we can figure out how it works and what we can do to counter it."

"She was killed when she was a child." Elicia stated simply.

"Her body was never found" Andy countered. "It's far-fetched, I get it, but I have a good feeling about this theory"

"But she was off the record books for 34 years. How can she be legally dead for _this_ long without someone noticing something?" Elicia asked.

"Well, she could've worn gloves to keep her finger prints off book, fake names kept her identity hidden, and if stayed inconspicuous enough, her face wouldn't appear on records either." Andy explained.

"That sounds logical enough, but they would've gotten her finger print records after her birth. If that was so, we should've been able to identify her as Cora McGravin."

Andy considered this point. He then got up, walked out of the office, grabbed a few documents from the records room, and walked back. He skimmed the documents, looking for the exact page. He found it.

"Her finger print records went missing around the same time she did." He said, showing Elicia the page. Elicia still looked skeptic.

"You know, this is just a theory." Elicia reminded him. "Even if it is correct, we still don't know anything about this Cora McGravin that will help us predict a pattern"

"But we do know about Kimbely." Andy said proudly. "And I think I just pulled out a pattern"

Andy wrote down the victims names. He then wrote down where they lived before the Ishvallen Extermination campaign. His suspected pattern was correct.

"So far, with only a few exceptions, most of the killer's victims are originally from the districts in Ishval that Kimbely wiped out. The exceptions are people from districts wiped out by current living state alchemist."

"So, mostly Kimbely's prey, but all of them are Ishvallen survivors that where supposed to be killed by State Alchemist. But only the State Alchemist that are living today. The Flame Alchemist, the Strong Arm Alchemist, the Gold Dust Alchemist, and others. But why?"

"If my theory is correct, it's probably because her uncle did it." Andy explained.

"I'm sort of buying your theory, Andy" Elicia started, "But something tells me that her motives aren't as simple as that"

* * *

"Tris, your shaking" Roshan pointed out as they got closer and closer to the tent.

"I'm fine" She said stubbornly, even though she trembled to hard Roshan could nearly feel her vibration.

"You've been visibly uncomfortable ever since you mentioned the idea of coming here. What gives?" Roshan continued to push.

Tris took a deep breath. It was about time she let go of her pride, and tell Roshan the truth. "I'm scared of clowns" she confessed.

Roshan looked like he was struggling to hold in laughter. Tris glared at him. "Shut up!" She said.

"I didn't say anything" Roshan said back, sounding amused.

"Don't tease me! Everyone has their phobia's. Mine just happen to include clowns."

"I'm sorry! I just didn't take you as the type of person to fear clowns" Roshan laughed.

"Well, if you've ever met Yoki the Clown, you would understand!" Yoki had mentally traumatized her when she was young, giving her a permeant fear of clowns. She had tried her best to get over this fear; it was one of the most humiliating fears to have, in her opinion; but any time she would lay eyes on Yoki the Clown, she couldn't help but tremble with fear.

"Your scared of Yoki the Clown?!" Roshan said in disbelief, "Yoki's the greatest clown in the world! How can you be scared of him!?"

"He traumatized me as a child!" Tris tried to defend herself, however, Roshan was already nearly cracking his ribs from laughter. Tris turned red. But deep down, she was happy he was laughing, especially after what happened to him, even if it was in her expense.

* * *

The circus played it's normal show, with the Ring Master coming out, making a greeting, and then the performers coming out and dancing around. It was an amazing show, from acrobats, to tightrope walkers, to all kinds of abnormal animals. Then out came Henkel and Darius.

"We may look like average men to you" Darius said joyously. The two of them loved their job. Every part of it. Tris was glad she came out to support them. Even if that meant she would, once again, be forced to face Yoki the clown.

"But we've got a special quirk." Henkel finished. "Wanna see?"

The two then turned into their chimera forms; the lion and the gorilla. "Yeah!" Tris cheered from the audience, "Go Henkel! Go Darius!"

The two chimera men turned to see Tris in her spot in the bleachers. They gave her a smile and a wave. "Are those two your friends?" Roshan asked.

"Yep" Tris answered.

"Lucky!" Muttered Roshan, a hint of jealousy in his voice. On stage, the chimera's continued their performance. Tris forgot how much she liked watching them. Anytime anyone would mention the circus, all Tris could think about was Yoki the Clown. Fortunately for her, however, not a single clown had entered the stage yet.

Around Henkel and Darius, other performers entered the stage and started to dance, enhancing the performance. Everything from the acrobats on the ground, to the young woman dressed in a black and white sparkly leotard, dancing on the tightrope.

"Tris, we need to go" Roshan suddenly said, fear in his voice.

"What? Why? The show hasn't ended yet. We can leave when the clowns come out" Tris responded.

"No, we seriously have to get out of here. That woman on top" He said, pointing to the tightrope walker. "I'm pretty sure that's her! The one who murdered my mother!"

Tris's eye's widened. What was this woman doing here? The woman held a large pole for balance. Now that Tris looked closely, the pole seemed to have a point to the end. Tris eyed her automail arm. She had once painted a transmutation circle to one of the arm-plates, the one that was once part of Alphonse's armor. She could transmute it into a weapon if she needed to. She just hoped she wouldn't have to; Tris hated fighting.

"Stay close to me" Tris said. "We need to get to the MP's"

The woman on the tightrope looked down to the floor. She then took a jump, aiming her stake right for Henkel and Darius.

The two men looked up to see the oncoming danger. They quickly jumped away from it. The stake pounded itself into the floor, cracking in half upon impact. The woman landed on the floor, stumbling a little bit. She then stood up straight, smiling satanically. She threw away the half of the stake she was still holding onto.

"Well, I didn't expect this. The man who finally drove my uncle six feet under is part of the circus. I have to congratulate you. He was a tough opponent. But I'm not here for you. You just happened to show up" She said.

The rest of the circus eyed her cautiously. Henkel whispered to Darius "What's this stuff about driving her uncle 'six feet under'" Henkel asked.

"I don't know. I mean, we're army soldiers, this woman's uncle could be anyone." Darius whispered back.

The woman turned around until she was facing the direction of Tris and Roshan. "Ishvallan boy!" She shouted. "I have a job to finish"

At this, the killer went running at the bleachers, her hands spread out. Tris sprain into action.

Tris jumped at the woman who was threatening the life of her new friend, using alchemy to turn her automail into a blade. She didn't like transmuting her own automail, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She gave the her blade a swipe. The killer jumped away, barely missing a cut to her chest. The two landed on the dirt floor of the circus.

"I won't let you touch him!" Tris shouted, holding her blade out towards the threat.

The killer smiled. "You have a good little girlfriend, Ishvallen boy!" She taunted. She then looked at Tris more closely. "You're Trisha Elric. The second that is. Wonderful. I have a message for your father"

"You can give it to him when your locked up!" Tris declared. The paused, not looking away from the vile woman for a second. "Who the hell are you, anyways?!" Tris snapped.

"Cora McGravin" She said pleasantly. "Nice to meet you" McGravin then clapped her hands together. However, before she could do anything with the hands, someone ran into her, shoving his head into her soldier, throwing her off a good 10 feet.

"Close one, huh?" Darius said, giving Tris a smile. "Everybody!" He then yelled to the audience and performers at the top of his lungs. "Please get out of the tent as quickly as possible in a clam and orderly fashion"

As the old cliche went, everyone ran out of the tent panicking. Darius connected his forehead to his palm violently. "I should've told them to run out panicking" He said to himself.

"Who the hell is that crazy lady" Henkel asked, running over to Tris and Darius.

"I think she's the Ishvallen killer" Tris said. She then looked around. "Where's Roshan?!" She suddenly yelled.

"Who?" Darius asked.

"An Ishvallen boy crazy lady's trying to kill" Tris explained. "He's also my friend, and I won't let McGravin kill him!"

It was hard to find people in the panicking crowd. Tris hoped he did the smart thing and ran off, but if she where in his situation, she would've gone back to look for her friend.

"Roshan!" Tris shouted as loud as possible. Suddenly a dust cloud rose up. Not only did the running crowed still trying to leave the building confuse Tris, but now she had the dust cloud to worry about. Henkel and Darius stayed by her side.

"Tris!" She heard a shout from the distance. It was Roshan's voice.

"I'm coming!" Tris yelled, running in the direction of the voice. Roshan kept shouting her name. But then he stopped shouting. Tris panicked. _She can't have gotten him_! Tris thought.

Tris saw a figure in the dust. An imposing figure, standing with her hands stretched out, and a smaller figure, who had fallen to his butt, and wasn't moving.

"Roshan!" Tris called out to him. She ran towards the two figures. McGravin clapped her hands together. Roshan didn't move an inch, looking at McGraving, with fearful eyes. Tris took a jump for him.

Her arms wrapped around his body as she pushed him out of the way of McGravin's explosive alchemy. The two of them skidded in the dirt as McGravin's hands landed on the ground. The ground blew up, creating a second dust cloud.

Tris turned back to Roshan to see he still wasn't moving. She wasn't liking this. McGravin once again approached them, but before she could clap her hands together, one of her arms where grabbed by Darius, and the other by Henkel.

"Run kid!" Darius shouted.

Tris pulled Roshan up, grabbed him by the wrist, and ran to the bleachers, nearly dragging him behind her. Once they where hidden under the bleachers, she gave the boy a good shake.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" She whispered angrily to him.

"What do you—?" Roshan started, but Tris wouldn't let him finish.

"Why the hell would you stay still and let her kill you?!" Tris snapped, trying to keep her voice quiet. "She was standing right above you. You could've ran. Or fought. Or something! Something better than sitting still! Where you going to just _let_ her kill you?"

"I'm sorry, Ok?" He snapped back. This was the first time Tris heard him raise his voice. She wasn't used to it. However, the remorse and regret shining in his ruby red eyes told her he wasn't angry, but scared, and sad. "I don't know why I do it, but when I get scared, I don't run, and I don't fight. I freeze up. My body can't move, no matter how many times I tell it to." He then started crying. "I can fight. I promis you. I'm actually really good at fighting. But when I get really scared, I forget I can defend myself. That's why mom told me to run. Because she knew I wouldn't be able to protect her. I was perfectly capable of saving my mother, but my body doesn't move when I'm afraid. I hate this about myself. If I wasn't like this, maybe my mother wouldn't have died."

Tris gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I understand fear." She showed him her automail. "You see this? I lost my arm in a train reck almost six years ago. I've never been able to even go _near_ a train since. Someday, I hope to face my fears. But I won't do that for a while. You don't have to face your fears right away. Some things take time. If fear causes you to freeze up, that's just part of you that you have to get passed someday. But today may not be that day. And it's ok. As long as your fears don't control your life, then your fine." Bright gold eyes met ruby red. Tris hoped more than anything that her words had gotten through to him. They had. "Now, Roshan," Tris commanded, "Get out of here, ok? I'm gonna go help Henkel and Darius."

Tris ran onto the battlefield, praying that Roshan had listened to her.

* * *

"There's an attack at the circus grounds" Hawkeye reported to Mustang. Andy happened to be in the room hearing this news.

"Is there a performance today?" Mustang questioned.

"Yes, there is" Andy told them. "Henkel and Darius are coming in today."

"There's a witness report that the attacker is going after an Ishvallen boy" Hawkeye informed them.

This fact made Andy's stomach crawl. "Any other information we need to know?" He asked.

"There was a witness report that the killers target had a small girl with him. She was attempting to protect him" Hawkeye stated.

When Elicia first told Andy that she had Tris guide the Ishvallen boy around the base, Andy had thought that was a terrible idea. He was stupid not to say anything.

"Damn you, Trisha!" He suddenly shouted, earning him confused looks from Hawkeye and Mustang.

"We need to get to the circus grounds!" Mustang said, ignoring Andy's outburst. "Hawkeye, Elric, your with me. Both of you gather your team. They're coming too."

The sickening feeling in Andy's stomach didn't leave. _How could I be so stupid?_ He thought, _I should've never left Tris alone with a kid her age._

* * *

Henkel and Darius put up a fight against the Ishvallen killer. McGravin was strong, but they were used to fighting people more powerful than them. She might've had her explosive alchemy, but they had their fight against the likes of Kimbely and Pride under their belt.

Tris joined the fight sooner than they thought she would. "Tris, what are you doing here?" Henkel asked.

"Helping you two out." Tris said, quickly drawing a transmutation circle in the dirt with her foot. She created a giant fist from the earth, punching McGravin a few feet back.

"Of course you are" Henkel muttered.

"Where's the kid you're with?" Darius asked her.

"Hopefully running away by now" Tris answered.

The three of them exchanged moments of sparing with McGravin. The ground then blew up underneath them, throwing the three fighters a good few feet back. Tris landed on her head.

"Ow," She grumbled, her vision red and blotchy. She suddenly felt something else collide with her head, and realized that McGravin had kicked her. She saw McGravin's shadow over her. Tris tried to stand up, but her spinning head threw her off balance. McGravin smiled satanically. And suddenly, she fell to the ground.

Roshan stood behind her, his fist up. He looked terrified, but he did it. He landed a punch on the woman who killed his mother. And it seemed to be a knock out blow.

"Told you I was a good fighter" He said, after a breath. He then held out a hand to Tris. She took it, and he pulled her up. She swayed for a bit, but then steadied herself.

"That was AWSOME!" She shouted, giving Roshan a high five (she was slightly disappointed to find that her 'up top' was easy to reach). "You powered through your fears"

"It's easier to face your fears when their not facing you" Roshan laughed.

"But it's a start" Tris said.

Suddenly, McGravin stood up. "Nice moment" She said, "but this isn't over"

A rock suddenly collided with the back of her head. McGravin feel to the floor. Tris and Roshan looked back to see the one who threw it hiding behind a cement blockade. It was Yoki the clown. Of all people.

"Yoki!" Tris cheered.

The man looked ridiculous in his clown suit. But he still did the two of them a favor.

"See Tris!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her, "I just saved your life. Now you have no reason to go around avoiding me!"

"Avoiding you?" Tris questioned.

"Don't think I don't notice you leaving the past show's before the clowns can come out! What do you think, you're to good for me!?"

"No actually" Tris laughed. "I used to be terrified of you"

"You where scared of me" Yoki said. At first she thought he was offended, but then... "Haha! I, the great Yoki the Clown! I scared the likes of Edward Elric's daughter! I terrified her! I am the greatest"

Tris gave Roshan a look. "I don't see how the circus puts up with him" Tris mumbled to her new friend. He gave her a smile and a laugh. Butterfly's floated in Tris's stomach. She liked Roshan's laugh.

* * *

"That was stupid!"

"I know"

"And reckless"

"Yep"

"Your an idiot"

"Right"

"We told you to stay on military campus"

"Didn't care"

"I'm glad your safe" Andy finally said, giving his little sister a hug.

"I know" She said with a smile, hugging her big brother back.

"But if you do that again, I'm gonna have to kick your ass. I'm only letting you off the hook because it's your birthday" Andy warned her.

"Speaking of it being my birthday" Tris said with a smile, "what did you get me for a present?"

Andy froze. He'd been busy. He forgot to get her a present. "Uh, it's a surprise" He said a little to quickly.

"You forgot to get me a present, didn't you" Tris grumbled.

"Yeah, sorry" Andy said back.

Meanwhile, Cora McGravin was apprehended by Mustang and Hawkeye, while Yoki was bragging to them about how he hit her head with a rock.

"Trust me, I was amazing" He said. "I'd say it earns me my job back in the military,"

"It would've," Mustang taunted, "But we consider it dishonorable to hit a woman. Especially with a heavy object"

Yoki stood in his spot with his mouth open, as Hawkeye and Mustang continued to walk away. McGravin slowly came too.

"Well, this is wonderful" She said, upon discovery of her situation. Her hands where cuffed in a way that she couldn't clap them together. However, McGravin never went without a backup plan.

She slipped her hands into her pocket, pulling out a small cloth with a special type of transmutation circle. One that self-activates. As soon as it landed on the road, the road blew up, causing both her and the people escorting her to go flying. It was worth it. McGravin broke her shackles by smashing them on a nearby rock, and then ran through the dust, looking for the one person she needed to talk to. She found him.

McGravin landed a kick to Andy's back when he wasn't looking. As soon as he fell down, McGravin grabbed his hands, pulling them back, and stood on his back.

"Get off me!" He cried.

"I've got a message for your father." She said. "Tell him, 'We homunculi never die'"

Andy struggled under her grip. "Who are you!?" He snapped.

"Cora McGravin, but I think you figured that out" She then stepped off him, and ran off into the distance.

"I knew it" Andy muttered. So he was right. Now he had to figure out what McGravin meant by 'We homunculi never die'.

* * *

Number 39 rarely got woman-to-woman talks with Cora anymore. Cora was always so busy, it was so hard to catch up with her. But today was an exception. Their organization had decided that Cora had done enough work, and that the first faze of the Nostalgia Plan was over. Cora wouldn't be needed for faze two or three.

"And get this!" Cora laughed. She had been telling Number 39 about her day, from killing the Ishvallen mother, to the close call she had, to giving Elric's son the message. "The man who killed my uncle is a _performer_ in a _circus_! Of all things!" Cora continued to sip her tea. "I find this hilarious."

39 placed her tea cup on her saucer. "Are you interested in revenge?" She asked Cora.

"Not that much, actually. I understand the circumstances this Henkel was in, I completely understand why he killed my uncle. At that point, it was him, or uncle Zolf. Henkel choose himself." Cora took a sip of tea. "However, revenge would be fun. I wouldn't mind claiming it."

39 smiled. "That's my girl"

"By the way, why did you take me in?" Cora asked. This was a question Cora frequently asked. She was 34, she thought it was about time she found out why.

"Because I made a promis to your mother" 39 answered. "A promis I have yet to break"

* * *

"So, who's your friend?" Ed asked upon seeing his daughter and the Ishvallen boy she was hanging out with.

"This is Roshan Galiana" Tris answered. The boy in question walked up to Ed to shake his hand.

"You must be Tris's father, Edward Elric" Roshan greeted. "Pleased to meet you"

"Can he join my birthday bash?" Tris begged her father.

"Eh, sure. Why not?" Ed said. "Just don't steal all the pie"

"You fought a serial killer?!" Yuri asked his sister. "You better not have gotten a scratch on my automail"

"First of all, it's _my_ automail" Tris said back. This was an argument the two of them often had. "And secondly, do I look like the kind of person who would let my automail get scratched?"

"No" Yuri admitted with a smile. "I'm so used to dad trashing his that I get worried about yours"

"I'm not that terrible at automail maintenance!" Ed tried to defend himself.

"Yes you are" Winry quipped.

"So this is your family?" Roshan whispered to Tris.

"Yep. They're crazy" Tris laughed.

Roshan shrugged. "I like them"

* * *

"UNCLE LING!" Tris cheered as soon as the black-haired Xingese emperor stepped out of the train station. She ran towards him and gave him a large hug.

"Tris!" He cheered back. "How's being 15 treating you?" He asked.

"It's awesome!" Tris answered. She then pulled Roshan up to her unofficial uncle. "Uncle Ling, this is Roshan. Roshan, uncle Ling"

"Hi. Tris told me about you." Roshan said, holding a hand out to shake.

"All good things right?"

"Always good things" Roshan answered.

"I like this kid" Ling told Tris.

"Trisha" Said a pleasant female voice from behind Ling.

"Hey Aunt Lan Fan!" Tris said back pleasantly.

The Elric family and the Yao's exchanged pleasant greetings, and then kicked off to their usual banter. Bei walked right up to Andy and eyed him suspiciously.

"Andy" She said curtly.

"Bei" Andy said back, using the same tone of voice.

"I still haven't forgiven you for the last time we saw each other" She informed him. He expected nothing less. Bei was a lot like her mother that way.

"Well, I'm still not happy about that bomb you threw in my face either"

The two stared each other down. "Explosive's freak" He said as an insult.

"Filthy Midget" She tossed back.

When Andy was younger, he used to take offence to the word 'midget'. But now...

Andy compared his hight to the bean pole of a woman. He smiled when he realized that he was finally taller than Bei.

"You can't call me midget anymore" He said with a smile. "I'm taller than you! I'm no longer a midget"

"Yeah, don't rub it in!" His sister butted in. She and Yuri where the short ones in the family. Yuri didn't care about his hight, but Tris hated being called short. Andy was the tall one, and he took joy in constantly reminding his siblings of this.

* * *

Inside a cake shop, Tris blew out 15 candles on a giant chocolate cake. She was given applause by all her guest. Her family, Al, May, Nina, the Mustangs, Mustangs team, their family, Andy's team, Gracia, the Yao family, Paninia, Jerso, Zampano, Henkel, Darius, and even Yoki. And of course, Tris's newest friend, Roshan.

"Best birthday ever!" Tris cheered. She than dug into her presents. A few people didn't get her anything. Yuki and Lance didn't know her birthday was today, Yoki wasn't originally invited to her party, Rin somehow lost her present on the trip from Xing to Amestris, and Roshan didn't even know Tris before today. But she didn't care that much about presents. She had her family, and her beloved friends, and that was all that mattered.

Tris finally dug into the present from Andy. "Sorry it was so last minute. But I think you'll like it" He told her.

Tris opened the box her big brother had hastily placed her present in. She pulled out a dark blue modern cloak with gold buttons. Tris smiled.

"It's a clothing item that doesn't have terrible taste!" Tris cheered. "You finally did it Andy! You finally choose a good item!"

"I'm not sure wether to be happy about this or to take offence" Andy said dryly.

"Be happy" Tris said, putting the the cloak. "I love it" She said.

"Good." Andy replied. "I'm glad you do"

The celebration lasted until dark, when everyone went home. As Winry went off to book the family a hotel, Andy pulled his father off to the side.

"The Ishvallen killer said she had a message for you" He told him.

Ed grumbled. He didn't like the sound of this. "What did she say"

"'We homunculi never die'"

Ed thought about that sentence for a bit. Whatever it meant, he didn't like the sound of it.

He had no idea what was to come.

* * *

 **AAAAANNNNDDDD DONE!**

 **I hope you liked what I did with the characters. I'm not sure if I like how this chapter turned out to much, but it wasn't bad. Read and review, constructive criticism would be appreciated, as I do want to get better at writing. So read and review! Tell me if you liked it!**

 **As for Roshan, he was a character I've been planning on adding even before I came up with the plot of the story. His friendship with Tris was also part of my plans. Some things in this chapter might not make sense, but I plan to shed light in later chapters, so stick with me.**

 **Until the Tuesday after next Tuesday!**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	8. Chapter 8: On Repeat

**MotherUniverse hear, and I'm finally back. Sorry for being so late, but my life was hectic, and I needed time. Keeping up an update schedule has been difficult, so my story isn't really as good as I hoped it would be. I think by giving myself some time, I was able to rethink some things. I need time to really go over my chapters and make them good, which is why I've been giving you all such a long waiting period. So, I apologies.**

 **On another note, a few Saturdays ago (February 18th) was my birthday, so in honor of my birthday, I published a one-shot about Ed's birthday, so if anyone wants to go read it, feel free to do so. Also, if anyone here is also part of the RWBY fandom, I have written a RWBY story (multi-chapter), so go read that too, if you would like.**

 **Hamsterboy3** **, thank you for the reviews as always. You will always be welcome here.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. I think we all know this by now.**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 8: On Repeat

* * *

"'We homunculi never die'?" Roy Mustang questioned. Currently, he, Halkeye, and Edward where in his home office, discussing McGravin's 'message'. The woman had given the military a lot of clean-up duty after killing around 12 Ishvallen citizens. Not to mention that they hadn't actually caught her. Now they had this puzzle to unravel. "What's that mean?" Mustang asked his ex-subordinate.

"Hell if I knew" Ed replied. He had gone over alchemy book after alchemy book in the last week since his Tris's birthday, trying to figure out what McGravin had meant by it. "I thought it might be some sort of riddle. I've looked into every book I can find on creating homunculi to figure it out, but I haven't got a single clue"

"I have a thought," Mustang said, "but I'm hoping it's not true"

"What are you thinking?" Ed asked.

"McGravin is the niece of Zolf J. Kimbely." Mustang explained. "We don't know if she had any actual contact with him, but someone must have known her well enough to tell her her name and origins, as she knew where she came from, despite going missing and reported dead as a baby"

"Kimbely killed the most Ishvallens out of all the state alchemist, right?" Ed asked.

"Yes." Mustang replied. "I first thought that McGravin was simply finishing her uncles work, but then she said that."

"And it was the homunculi that ordered Ishval exterminated in the first place" Ed finished for Mustang. "Do you think she was connected to the homunculi in any way?"

"It's possible, but we can't be sure."

Suddenly, the phone rang. Mustang picked it up. "Mustang," Jean Havoc said across the phone. "Get to your office, we've got a situation"

"Let's go, Riza" Mustang said, grabbing his coat and leaving the office. "Fullmetal, I'll call you if something important happened"

The two Mustang parents left the office and walked down the hallway's of their house, unaware of their young boy who happened to walk by the office when they where talking.

* * *

Mustang marched into his office, Hawkeye walking behind him. "What's going on?" He demanded as soon as he walked in.

"A large explosion had been activated in Leor, at the old 'church of Lito" Breda informed his commanding officer.

"Damn it!" Mustang snapped. First a cereal killer targeting Ishvallens, now an explosion in Leor. Same as _those_ times. "Hawkeye, call Ed, tell him what happened. Then I want you and your team to get all the information you can find about what happened."

"Yes sir!" Hawkeye said, immediately going to perform those actions.

"Elric!"

"What?"

"Take your team to Lior and observe the sight itself. Use your alchemy to identify the casualties. Miss no detail"

"Got it" Andy said with a groan, grabbing some notes from his cubical and gathering the rest of his team to go with him. Mustang was glad the boy actually worked quickly for once.

After issuing commands to a few more officers, Mustang exited the office. The fuhrer was probably a where of this incident, and Mustang needed to tell her about McGravin's message.

* * *

"Um, Fuhrer Armstrong" Miles said across the phone to the woman who used to be in charge of his outpost. Now that she was in Central for her job as Fuhrer, he was put in charge of guarding the Brigs fortress.

"What?" She asked curtly. She was in the middle of some important paperwork, that, if it didn't get straightened out, could lead to a plunge in the stock market. This was putting her in a bad mood, as it was probably the 100th thing she was trying to get done today.

"We've sighted some Drachmens" Miles started.

"Then wipe them out like we usually do when they attack" She snapped.

"No, their already dead" Miles told her.

"Then why are you calling me about it?"

"Because there's about four dozen of them, and they showed up that way"

"What?" Armstrong asked, making sure she heard him right.

"Someone dropped the dead bodies of about four dozen Drachmens at the front of our wall, sir." Miles informed her. "Some don't even appear to be soldiers.

Armstrong sighed, and wrote the details down. "Ok, I want you to check each of their bodies and find out how they died, and how they got there. Report to me as soon as you find anything."

First a woman related to Kimbely killing Ishvallens, then her most recent report of the explosion in Leor, and now this. Those where the last three points of the nation-wide transmutation circle the homunculi tried to build. It couldn't be a coincidence that these events happened within less then a week of each other. She had a feeling that her country was going to, once again, be in for a hell of a roller coster ride.

A knock on the door was heard. "Come in" She said, barely looking up from her papers. Mustang walked into her office.

"God, it never rains but it pours" She mumbled, not caring wether or not Mustang heard her.

"Fuhrer Armstrong," Mustang said, getting straight down to business. "When we arrested Cora McGravin, and she escaped, she told Alexander Elric to give his father a message."

"What did she say?" The Fuhrer asked.

"She said, 'We homunculi never die'" Mustang informed her.

Armstrong slammed a fist into her desk. "Damn it!" She snapped. "Just like I thought"

"What is it?" Mustang asked.

Armstrong took a deep breath to try to recompose herself. _1... 2... 3..._ "Just now, Miles had given me a report of an incident on Drachmas's side of fort Briggs"

"Was it an attack" Mustang asked.

"No. Someone unknown killed four-dozen Drachmen's, some not even soldiers, and dropped their bodies at the front of the fort." She explained. "I can't believe this"

"Do you really think Homunculi are behind this?" Mustang asked, trying and failing to keep the worry from his voice.

"I can't say for sure, but I think someone who was at least connected a Homunculus is involved in this, given McGravin's message" Armstrong sighed. "We don't need this, not after the Promis Day, and especially when we're so close to having a financial crisis."

Turns out, the Cretans and Aurgens where upset with Amestris for all the past wars. This lead to a few border scrimmages. While the scrimmages where nothing more than that, they happened so often, that Amestris ended up spending more money on the battlefield than they first intended.

"I want you to tell everyone in the military who knew about the true purpose of the promis day about this. And I mean everyone, retired or otherwise. The Elric brothers especially" She commanded.

"Sir" Mustang said with a nod. "What are you planing to do?"

"For now, I'm gonna give an old friend a call. I have a few questions for her"

* * *

Izumi had just finished having an unsettling phone conversation with Ed when the phone rain once again.

"Izumi, its me"

"Olivier," Izumi said as a greeting. "It's been a long time since you last called. What's going on?"

"Izumi, did you hear about McGravin's message to Edward?" Her old friend and fuhrer asked over the phone.

"Yes, I have. It was less than settling, I can say that for sure" Izumi replied.

"McGravin was responsible for the recent Ishvallen killings."

"I heard she was a relative to the one who killed the most Ishvallens back in the war. Had similar alchemy, too."

"She was probably the one who killed General Train 18 years ago"

"At least you got that case cleared up."

"Did you hear about what happened in Lior?" Armstrong inquired.

"Yes, Ed just told me about it. Lior and Ishval where points on the nation-wide transmutation circle" Izumi answered.

"And to put the cherry on the cake, Miles just called me and said that someone killed at least four dozen Drachmens, civilians and soldiers alike, and dropped their dead bodies off at the front of the fort" Olivier informed her friend.

"Its to much just to be a coincidence." Izumi mused.

The two woman didn't talk for a while, before Olivier said, "Izumi, I'm going to ask you something"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can my brother come to your house for a 'friendly visit'? We need to figure out what's going on, and likely, you being a 'human sacrifice' and all, whoever's behind this will be watching you"

"So you want me under guard." Izumi concluded.

"Not quite 'under guard'" Olivier corrected, "but we need someone trained to watch for suspicious figures. Besides, the military know a bit more about what's going on than you do."

"I'll get the spare rooms ready" Izumi responded.

* * *

 _We homunculi never die..._

 _Elrics, what the hell did you get yourselves into?_ Maes Hawkeye-Mustang thought as he sat on his bed, flipping through alchemy books. He and his big sister weren't exactly the greatest alchemist to walk the planet; Maes had put his education above alchemy training, opting to study leadership, strategy, and combat to learning alchemy, and as for Lizzie, nothing really held her attention for more than 20 minutes, which resulted in a lack of attention to her alchemy lessons. Still, the children where knowledgeable about the basics, and a few other branches of Alchemy they wanted to study, flame alchemy being a point of interest for Lizzie. With what little he knew, however, Maes was going to figure out what the whole 'We homunculi never die' thing meant.

It wasn't like he meant to hear it. He was a well-behaved child. He didn't disobey his parents or go places he wasn't supposed to go. He would help others who needed help, as long as he didn't break any laws. The reason for being, as Lizzie called it, a 'goody-two-shoes', was mostly because he admired, respected, and loved his parents so much that he would feel large amounts of guilt and regret during the moments he did disobey them, but also because he liked the respect and praise that came from being good. So, point was, he wasn't snooping (though Lizzie would later claim he was, despite not being there herself), he was just walking by their office when he heard the discussion, and curiosity got the better of him. He heard the entire conversation, despite feeling bad for listening in.

Of course, now that Maes had the information, he had to do something with it. He wouldn't do anything _too_ dangerous, but he considered himself a smart kid, and he might be able to figure out what the 'message' meant.

He had read a few books about Homunculi theory that he had kept for an old research project. He was reading and re-reading parts in the books, but so far, he wasn't reaching a conclusion.

Then an idea came to him.

Reaching for the phone, he called the old hotel number. If he was able to contact her, he might be able to advance in his theory.

* * *

The Elrics had yet to go home after all traveling to Central for Tris's birthday. They had rented out two rooms, one where Al, May, Ed, and Winry were staying, and the room net door was for their kids. Their parents were wary about keeping Tris, Nina, and Yuri (and that new boy Roshan, who they let stay with them since he didn't really have anywhere else to go) in the same room together, but they decided to trust their kids and hope for the best.

There where two beds and two couches in their rooms. Nina and Yuri took the beds (much to Tris's dismay) and Tris and Roshan where left with the couches.

Tris would wake up to anything. While she liked her sleep, she wasn't much of a deep sleeper. This was convenient for her new friend however, as he kept having nightmares. No one could blame him; it had only been a week since his mother died, so nightmares would be expected. He made enough noise in his sleep that it would wake Tris up. She would then wake him up, then wake up Yuri and demand that he give Roshan his bread (Yuri had made a few loafs of homemade bread and gave them to Tris as a birthday present). Then Nina would wake up, as it seemed if every other person in the room was awake, then she would wake up, no matter how deep asleep she was. This had been happening every day for the past week.

Roshan tossed a bit on the couch. Tris woke up to it, ran over, and tried to pull Roshan out of sleep.

"Roshan" She said, shaking him. She didn't bother to whisper, since she knew eventually all of them would wake up anyways. "Roshan, you are in the hotel room. With me. You're fine. Wake up"

The boy woke up shaking. "I'm sorry" He whispered. "She keeps showing up"

 _Cora McGravin_. Tris scowled at the name. The crazy woman kept coming to haunt Roshan's nightmares, and Tris didn't like it. "But she's not here right now, and I _won't_ let her kill you" Tris promised. "You want bread?"

"I think I'll be ok" He told her.

"Yeah, but Yuri's bread is nice" She said, getting up to wake up her little brother anyways.

"Yuri, we need your bread" Tris said, shaking her brother.

"Can't you grab it yourself?" Yuri groaned.

"I don't know where it is" Tris argued.

"I told you it's location 12 times" Yuri berated.

"I forgot!"

Yuri groaned and dragged himself out of bed, grabbed the bread (not bothering to retell Tris it's location) and ripped a few pieces from the loaf. "We're gonna run out of it pretty soon if you two keep eating it" Yuri gave one piece to Roshan, and another to Tris. One of them he ate himself, and the last he saved for Nina, who he knew would ask for bread when she woke up.

"Are you three eating bread again" She mumbled from her bread. _Speak of the devil,_ Yuri thought.

"Want some?" Yuri asked.

"Of corse!" Nina cheered, getting out of bed and grabbing her slice.

"I overheard dad and big brother having a conversation," Tris said.

"What did they say?" Yuri asked his sister.

"Not sure," Tris responded, "but by the look of dads worried face, I'd say it's something important. He looked almost haunted"

"Do you think it's anything to do with what happened in Uncle Ed and dad's childhood?" Nina asked her cousins.

"Maybe" Tris hummed. "Problem is, he doesn't really talk about it. We know about the human transmutation, and Uncle Al becoming a suit of armor. Heck, I've got part of that armor on my automail. They fought immortal homunculi who wanted to destroy the world, and dad and his friends won. Anything else we don't know?"

"My dad told me that one of the homunculi was a sort of clone of granddad" Nina said. "But I'm not sure how that could've happened"

"I heard that dad told Andy the key ingredient for a homunculus" Yuri said.

"Yeah," Tris said. "Then Andy told me"

"What did he say?" Nina asked curiously.

"He said that a Homunculus is made from a philosophers stone," Tris explained.

"But then, what's a philosophers stone made from?" Nina asked. Tris simply shrugged. None of them knew, not even Andy.

"I feel like I'm getting into something I don't want to get into" Roshan mumbled.

"You're our friend, of course your getting into these things," Tris quipped.

"It's not too late to back out" Yuri teased.

"Nah, I like it here. I think I'll stay" Roshan replied.

Just as Roshan said this, the phone in their hotel room rang.

"Hello?" Nina said as she picked it up. "Oh, hey Maes"

"Maes?" Tris said, a hint of more than curiosity in her voice. She knew her cousin had a crush on him, and she knew he had a crush on Nina. The only two who didn't get the memo where Maes and Nina.

"At the library, at this hour?... Yeah, I know it's still open but... It's 11 o'clock in the night. Ok. I'll meet you there"

"So?" Tris asked with a little too much interest.

"He wants me to go to the library. He has a few questions about Alkehestry" Nina explained.

"Why would he have questions about Alkehestry?" Tris asked as Nina exchanged her nightgown for lavender Xingese style shirt and white jeans, and clipped her long black hart into a half pony-tail.

"It's something to do with a conversation between his dad and Uncle Ed" Nina explained.

At this, Tris got up and started getting dressed as well, putting on her black leggings, blue skirt, black tank top, and her new blue, waist-length cloak. "I'm coming with you" She said. Yuri and Roshan where getting dressed as well.

"He asked for just me" Nina protested.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling I know what Dad was telling Mustang about," Tris said. "If one Elric kid jumps into danger, then the rest follows."

Yuri put his brown hair into a short pony tail, and slipped on a white T-shirt and overalls. Roshan did the same with his long white hair, and just put his yellow sweater over his pajama's.

"Let's go!" Tris said with enthusiasm.

* * *

"Why are the trouble-makers here?" Maes asked when he met Nina in front of the library. His dad, mom, and sister where working late that night, and Maes's official curfew was 1:00 when the rest of the family members where out.

"I resent that!" Tris snapped.

"They're stubborn, that's why," Nina responded. Maes rolled his eyes. He knew Yuri and Tris well. The two of them, especially Tris, would go looking for trouble, and Maes didn't want that. And they dragged the poor new boy in along with them too. That was one of the reasons he went to Nina instead, besides her knowledge of Alkehestry.

"Fine, they can help. But if you guys do anything your not supposed to do I'm going strait to mum and dad." Maes said firmly.

"Alright, stick-in-the-mud" Tris retorted.

The five kids entered the library. Maes had a theory, and he was hoping it would prove correct.

"I overheard the elder Mr. Elric and dad having a conversation" Maes informed them.

"What where they talking about?" Nina asked.

"Apparently the killer lady the military almost caught had a message for Mr. Elric. I think she told Andy" Maes started. "I think it was 'we homunculi never die'"

His friends suddenly stopped, a shocked look on their face. "What?" Maes asked.

"So it was homunculi that dad was worried about," Tris mumbled, "Dad had a face off with them in his youth"

"I know. Dad told me about it" Maes told them.

"I've heard that the homunculi where practically immortal. And we also know that they were made with philosopher's stones" Nina explained.

"Well, if they were immortal, then the 'never die' part makes sense. But I have a feeling that there's a little more to it than that," Maes told them.

"What do you mean?" Yuri asked.

Maes simply gestured them to follow him, and they walked to the alkehestry section of the library. Most of the library was open into late hours of the night, usually closing at 11:30, giving the kids a little less than a half an hour to do their research.

"I had a theory that this whole Homunculi thing was some sort of riddle," Maes explained. "I was looking into books on theoretical human alchemy, when it occurred to me that human alkehestry might have more results.

"When I was a child, I was reading this one book about alkehestry, and mom took it away from me because the circle I was looking at was dangerous. If I remember correctly, it might have had something to do with human transmutation," Maes went to a certain shelf, right behind a comfy looking chair. "I think it was on this shelf, because it was right behind my old favorite chair"

The four kids scoured the shelf for the human alkehestry book. Tris grabbed a certain tittle on the lowest shelf. "I think I found it" She said.

"Of course you would think to look on the lower shelf" Yuri quipped with a smirk, a subtle insult to her hight. Tris hit him on the head with the book.

Tris, Maes, and Nina sat down at the table, scanning the pages for anything useful, while Roshan and Yuri kept track of the time. The two boys knew very little about alchemy, so they didn't see need to help with the research.

The three researchers flipped through the book, hoping to find something, when Nina suddenly stopped them. "That" she said, pointing to an Alkehestry Array.

"An alkehestry array meant to heal?" Maes questioned.

"Not just heal," Nina elaborated. "Reconstruct human body parts. The page looks innocent enough, but with some expansion and re-writing, this circle could be used to perform human transmutation,"

"Or to create a homunculus," Tris said gravely. "Why would a book like this just be left in the library?" Tris questioned.

"Who knows?" Maes said, copying down the page in his notes, and then putting the book back on the shelf. "Could be the library staff, or something"

The kids noticed the time, and started to leave the library. "I don't like this" Maes said. "If this homunculus thing is connected to human transmutation, it could mean chaos for everyone." Maes looked back at his friends, "Do any of you guys know what happens when someone commits human transmutation?"

"Some sort of portal is opened," Tris answered. "Dad once called it 'the gate'. We don't really know anything about this 'gate', though"

"I'm going to show what we discovered to my dad. It's not much, but it might help" Maes told them.

"Yeash," Tris commented, "You show this stuff to the adults and they'll exclude you from all the cool stuff" She complained.

"It's for the better" Maes said. "You can help in every bit you can, but the best thing to do for your parents is to make sure you stay alive."

Tris sighed. She had to admit, he was right. She looked down at the ground as they headed towards their hotel, when she noticed something. "Holly crap!" She suddenly shouted. The rest of the kids looked to what she was staring at.

"No way," Maes whispered.

"Oh boy," Yuri said with worry.

"That's not good," Nina commented.

"God, please help us" Roshan prayed.

What they saw was simple. It was nothing but a sewer cap. It looked average to the minds eye. The problem with this one sewer cap was, however, that it had the same alkehestry symbols that the transmutation circle in the library book had. It looked a bit different, but there was no mistaking the two circles.

"It's on the sewer cap" Maes groaned. "That's just... _wonderful_ " He muttered sarcastically.

"Lets check it out" Tris pipped up.

"Lets not" Maes snapped. "We tell our parents about this, and leave it up to them."

"But we can do something!" Tris protested.

"We're kids, Tris" Maes reminded her. "Unprofessional, untrained, and if we die, what happens then? We might not know exactly what happened to our parents, but we know that whatever happened to them, it hurt. They don't need more pain"

Maes wrote down the location of the sewer cap, and walked with his friends back to their hotel room. He then walked back to his own house. He hoped that his friends would listen to him, and stay out of all the chaos that was going on. However, he had a sinking feeling that they would try to get involved.

* * *

"This is a mess" Andy groaned. Reverse Transmutation worked to do just that; reverse a transmutation. It did not work, however, on corpses burnt to a crisp by a non-alchemical source. Even if they were burnt by flame alchemy, it still wouldn't work. Everyone treated his reverse transmutation skills as some holy grail to autopsy work, but in reality, it was limited. Unfortunately for Andy and his team, pretty much all of the victims from the Lior explosion where not killed with alchemy.

"I'm a foot soldier, not a forensics lady" Elicia muttered. "I have no idea how to do an autopsy"

"And somehow we get stuck with those kinds of jobs" Lance complained. "How come it's always us?"

"Because we're an over-glorified forensics team, thats why" Andy muttered. "I did not become a State Alchemist just to do clean-up work"

"I knew I should've gone for the Court Marshals office" Yuki groaned. "'Go in the field!' She said, 'it will be fun' she said. My mother just gave me a load of crap"

"Well, at least we're doing something important" Lizzie remarked. "Besides, we do this job right, and a promotion might be in the bag for us!"

"We are overdue for one, after how much progress we made on the Ishvallen Killer case" Lance commented.

"We also failed to catch her" Yuki reminded them. "We didn't do anything special"

"Pessimist" Lance muttered.

"Arrogant pinhead" Yuki muttered back.

"Guys," Andy shouted, breaking Lance and Yuki out of their argument, "I think I found something"

It was a shred of blue fabric, with a small tag in it, showing a number. The number 52.

"52?" Lizzie questioned.

"According to certain documents, that general Train guy, who tried to assassinate the Fuhrer 18 years ago, had a blue cloak with a number sewn on it. It was found in his office" Elicia recalled.

"This may be bigger than we thought" Andy said quietly.

Lizzie asked, "Isn't it always?"

* * *

"Ishval, Lior, Fort Briggs. The three final points on the nation-wide transmutation circle," Ed mused. Mustang had told Ed the news about what happened at Lior the day before. It was around 8 in the morning, and Ed had made the trip to Mustangs apartment, just to hear about the incident at Briggs.

"What's going on?" Ed asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be good," Mustang answered.

There was a knock on the office door. "Hey dad, I've got something to tell you" Came the voice of Mustang's son from outside.

Mustang opened the door. "What is it, Maes?"

The boy walked in and put his notebook on the table. "I overheard some of what you where talking about yesterday, about the homunculi,"

"Maes," Mustang started.

"I did some research, and I found something" Maes handed his father the notebook.

"An alkehestry transmutation circle" Mustang hummed curiously. "And-" Mustang let out a gasp when he saw the second part of what Maes had found. "You saw the circle on a sewer cap?"

"It was by pure chance," Maes explained. "You wouldn't notice it if you didn't know what you where looking for"

"I'll look into it," Mustang told his son. "Thanks buddy." He patted his sons head, messing up his already messy hair. "And thanks for telling me instead of doing something dangerous,"

"Well, I'm not looking for a death wish anytime soon," Maes said with a shrug. He was about to say more when the office phone rang.

"Hello, Hawkeye-Mustang residence" Mustang said into the phone.

"Mr. Mustang? It's Winry. Is Ed there?" Came a panicked voice from the other side of the phone.

"Ed, your wife is calling" Mustang told the younger man, handing Ed the phone.

"Yeah, what is it Winry?" Ed asked as soon as he grabbed the phone.

"It's the kids. They're not in their room." Winry said with worry. "Al and May are out looking for them, but I have no idea where they could've gone!"

"My kids are missing!" Ed panicked, grabbing his coat from Mustangs chair, practically throwing the phone onto the desk.

"God no, don't tell me she went and did it" Maes moaned.

"Did what?" Ed asked, having a feeling Maes was talking about his Tris.

"I think I know where they might've gone" Maes confessed, mentally kicking himself for involving the Elric children in his research.

* * *

"This was a bad idea" Roshan moaned. Currently, Tris, Yuri, Roshan, and Nina were walking through the sewers, and very much lost.

"Trust me, we'll find _something_ eventually" Tris said, trying to sound somewhat chirpy. As soon as Maes was a reasonable distance from them, the kids had gone back to the sewer cap they had seen, entered it, and went exploring. It was a bad idea. They had been walking almost all night.

"Tris, I hate you" Yuri complained.

"What did I do!?" Tris shouted.

"You dragged us down here. It was your idea"

"Well you could've stayed at the hotel! But no, you had to come along, and all you've done this entire time is complain!"

"That's not true!"

"It is!"

"It's not!"

"It is!"

"It's not!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Nina shouted above the two arguing siblings. "Maybe we just leave, there's a man-hole right above us."

"But what if we left town?" Roshan asked with worry.

"There's only one way to find out" Nina said, climbing up to open the above sewer cap. However...

"Alright, if you all wanna back out, it's fine with me," Tris grumbled. "There's obviously something down here, and I'm not leaving until I find it."

Nina sighed, and soon followed her cousin. The two boys ran to catch up with the girls. There wasn't a way to back out of this.

After another hour of walking, the kids still hadn't found anything. "We probably went in an entirely wrong direction" Tris muttered. "We should've found _something_ by now"

"Lets just leave" Nina grumbled. "I wanna go to sleep"

It was not that long after Nina made this statement that they heard yelling from familiar voices.

"That sounds like my dad" Nina said in question.

The four kids followed the sound of the voice to see that the people who found them were, in fact, Al and May.

"We finally found you!" Al said happily, then he looked stern. "Why are you trudging through the sewers?!"

"We were looking for something" Said Tris.

"Lets meet up with the others. We'll talk about this later." May snapped. "And if I even get the _hint_ that you four are gonna sneak off again, I will lock you in your rooms for a month, and you even longer, Nina"

"But it was Tris's idea," Nina mumbled bitterly.

* * *

"What happened?!" Maes shouted as soon as he saw his friends. "Did you find anything down there?"

"No, we just wondered around for who knows how long" Tris muttered bitterly. "We got lost, and found absolutely nothing"

Currently, the kids where sitting in Maes's room. They had been chewed out by their parents earlier, but now they were just hanging out, and eating food.

"I told dad where the sewer cap was," Maes told them. "They should be looking into it as we speak,"

Maes sighed. "What made you think it was a good idea to explore the sewers?"

"'Cause I wanted to do something" Tris told him simply.

"I was just doing it because Tris was doing it," Yuri explained.

"Someone had to watch her back" Nina justified.

Roshan shrugged, "Everyone else was doing it. Plus, I was secretly hoping we would come across McGravin." He paused, sighed, and continued. "I want to bring her to justice, for what she did to my mother"

Tris gave his shoulder a squeeze. "She'll be brought to justice at some point. We just have to find her"

"And figure out what she has to do with the homunculi" Maes threw out.

"I wish we knew more about them," Tris thought out loud. "If we knew, we could help a bit more," She sighed. "We did do something though, so I guess we should be proud of it,"

* * *

"Mustang is going to explore the area our kids found" Ed reported to his brother.

"Do you think they'll find anything?" Al asked.

"Who knows?" Ed sighed. "I just hope they're able to stop whatever they find"

"And if they don't?" Al asked.

Ed hung his head. "I don't want to think about that,"

Ed sighed, "We can't let our kids fall into danger, no matter what we do,"

"With Nina and Yuri, it will be easy enough to protect them. They usually don't disobey us. Tris and Andy however..."

Ed nodded. He knew what Al was talking about. They had a tendency to explore, and a desire to be as active as possible. And with Andy's position as the Universal Alchemist...

"I can keep Tris in line if I try hard enough. She's daring, but she wont do anything to drastic if we talk to her. It's Andy I'm worried about. I should've never let him join the military" Ed said in regret.

Al nodded. "And now that he's a legal adult, we can't exactly force him to quite. Why did he want to be a military officer in the first place?"

"So he can learn everything," Ed explained. "He's too curious. It scares me"

Al shook his head. Edward couldn't keep his son out of danger. Both of them new that. "Maybe nothing will happen" Al said with forced optimism.

"Maybe" Ed hummed.

Both brother's knew, however, that there was no chance of things just continuing the way they were.

* * *

 **And the end of another chapter. Sorry it's late. My life was chaos, and I wanted to give myself time to make a decent chapter.**

 **However, this chapter didn't turn out as good as I hoped. I don't know how to make it better, so I'm just gonna leave it as is. This chapter just laid out some ground work. Next chapter, however, is when things start happening. We will also find out who exactly the people with the blue cloaks are.**

 **I'm gonna be honest, this story isn't as great as I hoped it would be. I rushed, I made chapters too long, I dropped too much information at once, some things were either dull or boring (or both), and some things I did previously I am regretting immensely. However, I can still get better, which I hope to do with later chapters.**

 **Please read and review. Tell me if this story is as bad as I think, or if I'm just being hard on myself. And be honest. Constructive criticism will be welcome. Also, if you want to throw out a compliment, please do so. I am in need of a confidence boost.**

 **Also, please check out _Happy Birthday Edward!,_ the one-shot I published for my birthday. It's a lot better than this chapter, at least, and better than a lot of this story. Read and review it. I'm actually proud of that story. **

**Hopefully my chapters will get better. I'll try my best. And if it's still not great, then I guess there's not much I can do. But whatever happens, if you do stick with this story, and manage to see it through all of the bumps in the road, then I will be happy. Stay on the lookout for future chapters, and tell me what you think of them.**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	9. Chapter 9: Searching for Answers

**Hello again, MotherUniverse here!**

 **So, I know the last chapter was short, and honestly, of bad quality, but I hope this one is better. Some of it might've been due to poor planning, since I jumped into this story with more of a plot, and less of a plan, so I would drop in more details and minor plot points as I went. My mistake. I guess as long as I'm learning, than it's all good though, right?**

 **Fir3danc3r , thank you for that absolute boost of self confidence that you gave me. Seriously, you are awesome. I'm glad you like my writing. And thanks again for the boost of confidence.**

 **Hamsterboy3** **, as always, thank you for the reviews. You will forever be welcome within this story. Also as for your question of "what's the pickle fiasco?", it is something that the Elric and the Hawkeye-Mustang kids will never speak of, because it is a source of great embarrassment and humiliation for them. Heck, they haven't even told _me_ what the pickle fiasco is, and I'm the one who made it up! XD**

 **Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist? Not mine. Sorry.**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Searching for Answers

* * *

"Why is it always the sewers?" Roy Mustang groaned, as he trudged his way threw dirty water filled to the brim with who-knows-what. It was waist high, and Mustang couldn't find a walkway. He was wet, and he was unhappy. And a wet and unhappy Roy Mustang usually led to a useless Mustang.

"Sir, please stop complaining" Hawkeye berated him, as she trudged behind him, about as pissed off as he was.

"Why the hell is there so much ground to cover?" Mustang moaned. "I mean, you'd think an organization would put their crap _near_ their landmark!"

"A dumb organization, yes" Hawkeye commented. "But these people, whoever they are, seem intelligent, and they could've been here for a long time. They would have clever strategies to keep themselves hidden."

Eventually, the pair of soldiers came across a dead end. Mustang let out a long sigh. "Let's just go back. I have a feeling we're not gonna find anything down this path anyways."

* * *

Back at the Fuhrer's estate, Olivier Armstrong was sitting over a map of the Central Sewers, crossing off path's her soldiers already tried, and writing in new paths that she hadn't known about until now.

"This is gonna take a while" She muttered to herself. She had every team and sub-team in Central that where aware about the events on the Promis Day scouring the sewers. It had been two weeks since they found the landmark, and nobody had found anything.

She had her brother watching over Izumi. Mustang was under her watch, and the watch of the other Central soldiers, and the Elric brothers, who had gone back to Risimbule, had accepted the guard-ship of Havoc and some members from his team, although they did so begrudgingly. She hoped that they would be smart enough to send a few guards with Alphonse and his family when he went back to his home near the country boarder.

All the 'sacrifices' had someone watching over them. Everyone else who knew about the darker purpose for Amestris where made aware of the current events. And so far, she had the financial crisis secured. But she didn't like being left in the dark. Something was happening, and nobody knew what was going on. And, considering that whoever they were dealing with managed to keep Cora McGravin off the records as long as they did, this _something_ might've been around for a long time.

Speaking of Cora McGravin, she had Ishval under close military watch incase McGravin decided to go on another killing spree. McGravin was related to Kimbely, and Kimbely had thoroughly enjoyed himself during the Ishval Extermination Campaign. It was no coincidence that McGravin was his sister's daughter. While she hadn't gone after Ishval itself, one could never be too careful. Plus, upon later investigation, the military had made a disturbing discovery regarding McGravin's victims; most of them were Ishvallens from districts that Kimbely either had decimated or was in supposed to decimate, but hadn't been able to get to, due to his arrest. McGravin's most recent victim, Anina Galiana, was from the Kanda District, notably the same district that Scar was from. The military had questioned Scar about his relationship with Anina, and while it was very limited, (he barely knew anything about her, besides her being the 12-year-old girl who had lived near his house), they'd been able to confirm that Anina was a survivor of Kimbely's attacks. Armstrong could only assume that the reason McGravin targeted Roshan as well as Anina was because Roshan was both a witness and the son of her victim. Currently, Roshan was staying with a family friend in Ishval, and the military was keeping an eye on the kid. Armstrong didn't think that McGravin would try to go after him again, but one could never be to careful.

Her killings where too well-planned. There was nothing random about them. Plus there was the bomb in Lior and the dead Drachmens. Now the 'landmark' on the sewer cap. It was disturbing that the landmark itself was a near circle for Human Transmutation. And the message was disturbing as well. Then there was a fact that was nagging on Armstrong, something she didn't like; whoever was instigating these events probably knew about her soldiers scouring the sewers, and they had done nothing to stop the search. It's possible that the organization they were dealing with might've been arrogant enough to think that the military wouldn't ever find the base, but something told her that wasn't the case. If anything, it was as if whatever they were dealing with _wanted_ to be discovered, and _wanted_ to be known. If she was right about it, whoever they were dealing with might have been setting a trap.

Fuhrer Armstrong stood up from her desk, grabbed the sewer map, and marched out the door. The search was taking too much time for her liking. Even if it _was_ a trap, they wouldn't know until they figured out who was behind the recent catastrophes until they found it. As much as she trusted her army with the job, she had come to learn that if you want something done right, you had to do it yourself.

* * *

Ed placed a bandage on a scraped knee. He had no idea how the knee had been scraped, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was because he let Havoc play ball with him, Tris, and Yuri. Lesson learned he guessed.

The phone rang. "Yep," Ed answered.

"Dad, do you know who 'Cray' is?" Andy said from the other side of the line.

"Cray... Cray... where have I heard that name before..." Ed hummed, flipping through his notebooks to find what he said about Lior, back during the whole, 'fake profit' incident. "Oh! He worked for the church of Leto!" Ed told his son.

"Helpful," Andy muttered sarcastically.

"Why'd you ask?" Ed grumbled back, ignoring his son's tone.

"Rose, that lady you know? Yeah, she said that she found a dead Cray's rotting caucus in a back room of the church, and he looked like he had been eaten alive or something" Andy explained.

"And?" Ed prompted, trying to keep himself from shuttering. Mention, or near mention in Andy's case, of Gluttony brought up some unpleasant memories, mainly of the dark void and the sea of blood.

"We think the person who bombed Lior was in that very same room when the bomb went off," Andy told his dad. Silence. "Dad, do you think that means anything?"

"Damn it!" Ed suddenly shouted into the phone.

Andy questioned, "uh, dad?"

"Sorry, Andy. I need to give General Germ-bag a call" And with that, Ed hung up on his son. He quickly dialed Mustang's number. When Mustang didn't pick up, Ed rushed through the house, into Al's room, and told Al what he just heard.

"This is starting to look very familiar. And well-planned," Al said.

"Ishval, Lior, Briggs. It seems like we got someone with a close connection to the homunculi on our hands"

* * *

Half-drenched soldiers stood in salute as Fuhrer Armstrong's car pulled up besides the fateful landmark. The Fuhrer stepped out of the car, sword and map in hand, looking less than pleased. "At ease soldiers" She commanded.

"Fuhrer Armstrong?" Mustang questioned, following her as she lowered herself into the sewers. "May I ask what you're doing here?"

"I'm here because I have a job to do," She said simply. The other soldiers followed her down the sewers. She handed the map to a Captain standing next to her, saying, "Keep track of every direction anybody goes. If we find something we will need this map to tell us what we're looking for. General Mustang, Major General Hawkeye, Colonel Ross, with me. Bring some of your men along with you"

"Yes sir" They responded. "Fury, Breda, your also with me," Mustang commanded.

"Catalina, Harthor, come along" Hawkeye commanded. Out of everyone coming along, Samantha Harthor was the least knowledgable about the events of the promis day, but she was a good friend of Catalina and Hawkeye, and had always believed that Fuhrer Bradley had been up to no good, so when she eventually learned the truth, she believed it with all her heart, crazy as it was.

"Brosh, come on" Ross demanded, plucking her husband from the crowed.

"Aw man!" He groaned.

The Fuhrer led them down certain direction, that hadn't been thoroughly checked out. She led them down a few paths, into some dead ends, back away from the dead ends, and into other sewers tunnels. Eventually, they came to a crawl-space. "This looks promising" Armstrong said to herself. The soldiers she had brought with her simply nodded, and followed their fuhrer through the pipe. They slowly started crawling through.

"So," Harthor started, posing a long-standing question she had, if no reason other than to break the silence. "Can someone fill me in on what's going on? 'Cause while I know about that Promis Day thing that happened, I don't _know_ about what happened"

"So your confused. I would assume Brosh probably also has some of the same questions you do" Armstrong stated.

"Yeah, what exactly _is_ going on?" Brosh asked. "I mean, it's important enough for the Fuhrer to show up, so..."

"We're not exactly sure what's going on yet" Armstrong started, "but we have a feeling that it has something to do with the Homunculi"

Brosh groaned. "Not them again!"

"Again?" Harthor asked. She then turned to Rebecca, and accusatory look on her face. "You said they were all dead!"

"They _are_ all dead. Whatever's happening must be some sort of a following!" Catalina explained. "Like, some organization in league with the homunculi"

The small group came to a dead end in the tunnel. Armstrong sighed. "It's a dead end" She said.

"Are there any signs of a transmutation?" Mustang asked. Armstrong checked the blocked entrance for any sign that a transmutation might have taken place.

"None" She replied.

Brosh groaned. "After all this crawling around, too"

"We shouldn't dismiss this entrance entirely, though" Armstrong explained. "A pipe big enough for us to crawl through, but leads to a dead end" She mused. "What would be the point of having this pipe in the first place, then?"

The group turned around and crawled out. Armstrong marked the location on her map. "Mustang" She commanded. "First thing tomorrow morning, I want you to go back and recheck this pipe, and take whichever state alchemist that's available with you."

* * *

It was about an hour after his phone call to his dad that Andy received a phone call from Mustang, telling him to get back to Central as soon as possible. He had an alchemy related question that Andy possibly knew about. Andy had already pretty much wrapped up his work in Lior, and was on the train to Central barely a few hours after the phone call.

By the time Andy and his team got to Central, it was late at night, so they had to swing by his apartment. Lizzie didn't mind this, however, since it had been a while since she visited home.

"Daaaaadddd! Moooommmm! I'm Hooommeee!" Lizzie shouted out at the top of her lungs as soon as she entered her house.

"And I _was_ sleeping!" Snapped a grumpy Maes from his living room, where he was laying on the couch.

"You haven't seen your big sis in two weeks and that's the greeting I get?" Lizzie pouted.

"That's what happens when you come here late at night"

"It's only 10:30"

"That's late"

Andy piped in, "Not really. I've been up _way_ later than that before"

"Just because you've been up later than now doesn't mean it's not late" Maes grumbled.

"Fine" Lizzie said, pulling a mug from a shelf in the kitchen. "Then I guess we'll have to enjoy a nice mug of coco without you"

Upon hearing coco, Maes got off the couch he was sleeping on and staggered into the kitchen. He looked messy and tired, compared to his usual put together nature. He wasn't even wearing his glasses, which he was practically blind without.

"Yeash," His big sister commented, "you look like a mess" She gathered some milk from the fridge (Andy couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the stuff), poured it into a pot, added chocolate powder, and heated up the hot chocolate over the oven. "You never fall asleep on the couch, Maes. What happened to you?"

"I was reading" Maes explained.

"In all the years I've known you" Elicia commented, "I've never seen you fall asleep while reading"

"Well, I pulled an all-nighter the day before" Maes explained. He quickly continued before his sister or Elicia could comment on how he 'never' pulled all-nighters (he really didn't. He saw taking care of himself as a top priority, and if he needed to sleep, he would go and sleep) "For two weeks dad and mom have been working non-stop, following a lead I found. I thought the least I could do was research a little to help out"

"A lead on what?" Lizzie asked curiously, as she spooned coco into cups for everyone (except for Andy. He didn't like hot chocolate with milk in it, but Lizzie didn't like hot chocolate made from water, and when she was cooking, she would cook it her way).

"On the organization behind the Ishvallan killings, and the Lior bombing, and the most recent event of the dead Drachmens" Maes explained.

"Dead Drachmens?" Andy questioned.

"You haven't heard? It's all over the news papers in Central" Maes questioned. "Someone killed a large number of Drachmens, both soldiers and civilians, and dropped their bodies off at the front of fort Briggs. Apparently, Drachma made an attack in retaliation, blaming Amestris for this, but apparently it was sorted out."

"So all three events; the Ishvallan killer, the Lior bombing, and the dead Drachmens, are all connected?" Yuki asked.

"My parents think so. Apparently it brings up some sore spots in their past. I think they think it's related to the Ishvallen Extermination War, the Lior Riots, and the Drachmen attack, or something"

Just then, Mustang and Hawkeye came into the kitchen. "Oh, good, you made hot chocolate" Mustang said with a smile, patting his daughter on the head, and pouring himself a cup from her pot.

"How's it going, dad?" Lizzie asked.

"It's, well, going" Mustang said with a sigh. "Do you know about 'the landmark'?" He asked her.

"Maes said it had something to do with the recent events" Lizzie answered.

"We suspect that a large organization had carefully planned these recent events" Mustang explained. "And we think they're hiding in the sewers, somewhere near a landmark Maes and the Elric kids had found," Mustang sighed. He then addressed the entire team. "You guys are young. The majority of you aren't even older than 20 yet, with the exception of Elicia. I don't want you guys to get involved in anything dangerous, which is part of the reason that, so far, the only missions I've put you in charge of involve desk work and what's basically over-glorified clean-up duty. That being said, I want to keep you away from the field for this current case. I don't want you guys going anywhere near whatever we are dealing with unless you absolutely have to. Understand?"

"Sure," Andy said. "We'll stay away from whatever _it_ is. But we _will_ do anything we can to help."

Mustang smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, Universal"

"So, why did you call us here anyways?" Lance questioned. "I mean, the hot chocolate's great and all, but didn't you have a question for Andy or something?"

"I did" Mustang responded. "Do you know if there is a type of alchemy that can transmute things _without_ leaving transmutation marks"

"I don't think there is," Andy responded, "but there is a circle I had come across during some research, that basically works like sandpaper. It smooths down the surface of a transmuted object, so it can erase some transmutation marks. I wouldn't say it could perfectly hide a transmutation though, there's always some hint that a transmutation happened, no matter what you did to hide it. Nothing I've come across could perfectly cover one up"

"Alright." Mustang said with a nod. "Have you seen the results of performing a transmutation with that circle?"

"Yes, I have. I've tried the circle for myself as well. It's quite remarkable how smooth an object is afterwards."

"Then you know how to identify if a transmutation occurred with that circle" Mustang concluded.

"Yes" Andy confirmed. "Do you want me to look at something?"

"You got it"

Andy smirked. "And here I thought you wanted us away from the field."

"I do" Mustang said firmly. "I just want you to check something, nothing more."

* * *

The next day, Mustang, Hawkeye, Breda, Fury, Catalina, and Andy traveled down the sewers, a few state alchemist and other normal soldiers whom Andy was unfamiliar with trailing behind them. They soon came to the pipe that the Fuhrer had investigated the day before. Mustang had refused to let Andy bring his team with him, and Andy had the slightest suspicion that as soon as he checked the thing Mustang wanted to check, he would be sent back to HQ. He would follow the orders given to him, but only to a point. After all, if he was going to disobey his superior officers, it would be best not to do it while he was with them.

When they came to the wall, Andy felt his way around it, looking for any signs of a Transmutation. He had to say, they where covered up very well, but for someone who was familiar with the transmutation circle that might have been used, it was easy to find the flaw.

"It's definitely a transmutation" Andy told them. "It's hard to tell, but if you look closely at the seem between this wall and the walls around it, you'll find slight indentations, and small bumps that show signs of a transmutation. This wall was not built into the sewer system naturally."

"So this wall was meant to hide something" Mustang remarked. "Andy, take the wall down. I want to see what's behind it"

Andy did just that. And there was a space behind it; an entire tunnel in fact. "Good" Mustang remarked. "Now go back to HQ with the rest of the team, and wait for further instructions"

"Of course" Andy muttered, crawling back behind the soldiers.

When the young alchemist was gone, Mustang exited the crawl space, and into the hallway behind it. The hallway was dry, and alit with torches. It looked obvious that someone or something lived here. The hallway went two directions. Right, and left. Mustang took half the people with him to go left, and Hawkeye took the other half right.

The place was like a maze. It was almost impossible to completely map it out. There were doors to rooms. Most rooms were locked, and it sounded like there were people inside of them. Eventually, after a while of wondering about, Breda posed a question that had been in the back of everyones minds. "We keep hearing the sound of people. How come we haven't seen anyone yet."

Mustang turned around. There was an extra sound that he didn't like, but nothing else that indicated the presence of other human beings. "Who's there?" Mustang shouted. Of course, nobody said a thing. He told a soldier to quickly check it out. The soldier found nothing. So they kept moving.

Eventually, they came across a structure that looked like a balcony. From the balcony, a large room was visible. It was the contents of the room that were disturbing.

The room looked almost like a church. There where no benches or pews, but there was a sort of stage, which had an alter, and a statue of what must have been this organizations God. The room was filled with people in blue cloaks, all of them dropping to their knees in prayer, and then bowing to the statue. In the center of the alter, a figure in a white cloak stood in the center of a transmutation circle. It was the circle for creating a philosophers stone. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the worst was the statue of what Mustang had to guess was their God. It was wearing white robes, and had red sandals on its feet. It's skin was pale, as if sunlight had never touched their 'God', and from what Mustang knew about whom they seemed to be worshipping, he probably hadn't. His long hair and beard alike were a pale gold, and so where his eyes. The man in the statue looked exactly like Van Hoenhiem, but Mustang knew better. This thing the people where bowing to, worshiping like a God, was _not_ Van Hoenhiem.

"This is a cult" Mustang said in shock, fear, and amazement. "We're dealing with a cult that worships the Homunculus!"

"Now, now" Said a cold woman's voice from behind them. "Cult is a strong word. We prefer the term, 'Ultimate Religion'"

The soldiers turned around to see a woman with black hair and onyx eyes. Her hair was long and tied off on her right shoulder in a low side pony-tail. She was wearing a blue cloak like the rest of the cult members, except she was wearing her hood down. "But kudos' to you for figuring it out. Took you long enough."

Mustang stared at the woman. "Who are you!?" He demanded.

"I'm Number 39" She said proudly. "Welcome to the Church of Homunculus!"

* * *

 **Dun dun dun!**

 **Yep, so now you know who the main villains are gonna be. A large cult dedicated to worshiping and honoring Homunculus (also known as Father, also known as The Dwarf in the Flask)!**

 **I don't really have much to say, besides that I think that this chapter was better than the last one. So, read and review please! I'd really like that! And I'm pretty sure that's all. I feel bad, though. There are so many characters to work with, and I haven't been using some of them as much as I should've. I'm sorry, unused characters! I will get to you eventually, I promis!**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Cult of Homunculus

**Hello! Mother Universe here again with another chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist: Afterstory!**

 **I am particularly excited about this chapter, because this chapter is when things really get shaking! Also, a bit of background information that is very important to my story will also be told, so yeah, get prepared for that!**

 **Thank you to all those who have reviewed. Hamsterboy3, as always, I welcome you here with open arms, and I have confidence that you can finish your reviews at some point. And I'm fine waiting until you do. I promis you, I don't think you're an asshole (I'm actually quite happy that you even dedicated your time to reading and reviewing this story!). GummyDuckie, I'm sorry for forgetting to pm you! But in hopes of making up for it I will answer you here. Grammar is something that is a bit of a working progress for me, but as I get older and go through more English classes, this should get better for me. Some error's might just be hasty typing since I have a bad habit of publishing at the last minute (no matter how far ahead I write it always ends up like this). Other than that, thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked this story! Fir3danc3r, thanks for visiting once again, and I hope you like this chapter just as much (if not more) as the last few. And TheRoseAlchemist17, when are you gonna review? I've been asking you often and I have yet to see anything, and you always say you will eventually. Please hurry. I know how fast you read things this shouldn't take that long. **

**Again, Fullmetal Alchemist is not mine. But the cult is. Idk if that's a good thing, but hey, I own a cult. What could go wrong with that? (Answer; Plenty)**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

* * *

Chapter 10: The Cult of Homunculus

* * *

The Ultimate Religion of Homunculus was founded many years ago. Sometime close to when Amestris was founded. At least, that's what Number 39 was told. While she wasn't an 'original' member, she had joined the religion before the Homunculus they worshiped so dearly was destroyed. Back when Homunculus was in power, the cult had been small. After all, not many people knew of _His_ existence, and _He_ liked to keep it that way. When _He_ was defeated, when Number 39 realized that she might never be able to see her God's face again, _that's_ when the cult had a large increase in numbers. The first few were just some suicidal Amestrian Soldiers, who had wanted to die, and who thought the country was rotten, and in need of purging. Most of them where veterans of the Ishval war, who believed that Amestris was rotten to the core, and needed to die. And they were quite happy to die along with it.

The Ultimate Religion gave them a purpose. These people who felt so lifeless where exposed to the greatness of Homunculus. That's when the Religion realized that they if they where to bring back their God once again, they would need as many people on there side as possible.

Some people where born into the Religion. They where given a number instead of a name, and where raised to value the cult. Much like Cora McGravin. She however, was not given a number, for reasons that even 39 didn't know, despite how she saw Cora as her own daughter. Other members where people feeling lost and alone. People who saw how rotten the world was, and people who were ok with death. The lost souls of the world found a purpose with the Ultimate Religion of the Homunculus. They were renamed with a number, and therefore reborn into the Religion. And they all shared a common interest in bringing back the glory days of their God.

Of course, the plan for getting their God back was a long and tedious one. It was a plan that would take a lot of time. Could take up to 100 years if they had not worked so fast. Sure, they where rushing a plan that needed time, but time was not something they had. But the good thing was, all the pre-work was almost over. And now that the military finally followed the clues they had laid out, they could continue with the second part of their plan. The only thing they needed to do was convince the military to hand over Selim Bradley; the last Homunculus.

* * *

Mustang stared down the woman in front of him. His gloves were on, and all of the soldiers had guns pointed at her. She wouldn't be able to escape, or harm them.

"What do you want?!" He snapped.

"So abrupt!" 39 said in mock offense. "Why don't we take you to our... let's call it a conference room. We can discuss our plans there"

Mustang snapped his fingers, sending a bout of flames. They surrounded 39, not touching her, but she could easily feel the heat of the flames. She stood, absolutely calm. She even smiled a little. This concerned Mustang. It was more than obvious this woman was prepared for his flames. Even still, Mustang tried to make his demands.

"You will tell me what you want _right here!_ And _right now!_ " He snapped. An entire cult dedicated to the Homunculi had been sitting right under there nose for obviously a _long_ time. It was concerning, and he wanted answers right away.

39 kept a calm demeanor, a smile on her face. "You should know better than to make demands from me on my own turf" She said calmly, "especially considering you know full well that I'm _not_ the only person who's been following you," This statement was enough to make the military members shutter. Still, they kept their stance, keeping their guns pointed at the target in front of them. 39 continued. "Still, if you want to know what we're up to that bad, then who am I to keep you waiting. But I think it's pretty obvious what we want"

She then spread her arms wide, a maniacal smile on her face, her eyes full of crazed joy. "WE WANT TO RESURRECT OUR GOD!" She shouted joyfully and proudly.

Mustang was taken back by this statement. His worry showed on his face. He quickly recomposed himself. "That's impossible" He said bitterly.

"Nothing is impossible, Mustang" 39 stated. Mustang chose to ignore how creeped out he was by the fact that she knew his name. "You can't bring the dead back to life, sure, but Homunculus is special. He was born from Alchemy, not a meager human. Therefore, when He died, He became Alchemy once again. Do you know what that means?"

Mustang remained silent.

"That means we can steal Him back from Alchemy. And we can have our God again!" She cried joyously. It was obvious this woman was crazy. She seemed so calm when they first saw her, but this was obviously not the case. Or, at least it wasn't when she spoke of her 'God'.

"That's insane!" Mustang shouted. "He tried to destroy the entire country! Why would you want him back when he could, and would, kill you?"

"He is a God" She said simply, calm once again. "He is a superior life form to us humans, so therefore, he should be allowed to consume us if he wants to. Don't us humans do the same thing with animals and plants, because they are lesser lifeforms than us?"

"She's obviously crazy" Breda whispered to Mustang.

"I can see that" Mustang whispered back. "But if we get her to keep talking, we might be able to find out what the cult wants." He then directed himself to 39. "And how do you plan on taking this 'God' of yours back from Alchemy?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out. But if you want to know more, you'll just have to come with me to the 'Conference Room'" At this, Number 39 started to walk off, her cloak swishing off behind her.

"What do we do, General?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Follow her to this conference room" He told them. "We need to know as much as we can about this cult, and I think that might be the best way to do it."

* * *

On their way to the conference room, the soldiers kept getting the creepy feeling that they where being watched. And to put it simply, they probably where being watched. Every time they turned their heads or looked behind them, they would see doors, which were open by an inch, slowly close, and they would sometimes see swishes of cloaks slip into a room or behind a wall into another hallway whenever they looked behind them. The only purpose Mustang saw to this charade of 'follow and watch', as he liked to call it, was to put him and his men out of ease. And while he would never tell this to the cult members, it was _definitely_ working.

Eventually, two hallways joined, and they where met with Hawkeye and the other half of the soldiers that had entered the facility. They where being lead by a man in a blue cloak, and like 39, he was also wearing his hood down, to reveal grey hair, a square face, and cold, blue eyes.

"Hawkeye, do you know what's happening?" Mustang asked her.

"It appears to be a cult that worships the Homunculi, and they seem hell bent on bringing him back to life" She explained. Just as Mustang suspected, she only knew as much as he did.

"That's all they told me, as well" He said to her. "It concerns me. They knew we were coming"

"I don't think that's it, sir" She said. Mustang looked at her curiously, prompting her to elaborate. "I don't think it's so much that they knew when we'd come, but more like they _wanted_ us to come. The connection that our son found, between the Homunculi and the Alkehestry circle? It was a pretty difficult connection to make, but it seems like they knew we'd make the connection, and find the land mark, at _some point_. They where just waiting for us to find it. They might've even been timing how long it took."

"And why would they do that?" Mustang mused. "To test our cleverness?"

"Likely" Hawkeye replied. "And maybe to figure out how dangerous we are, that way they know exactly what information to give us and what to keep us in the dark about. Because it seems like, for their plan to work, whatever the plan is, if they keep us completely in the dark about it, it might not work."

"And based on how long it took us to figure out who they are and where they were, they were able to make somewhat accurate calculations on how long it would take us to figure out what they are doing, based on the information they gave us." Mustang figured.

The two cult members stopped in front of a door. "In case you don't know," Number 39 said, "I'm number 39, and this" She said, gesturing to the man next to her, "is number 50. Welcome to the conference room"

The conference room seemed to be just that; a conference room. It was alit with torches (it seemed that there was no electricity in the facility), and contained a mahogany, long, oval shaped table, filled with dozens of chairs. The chairs all looked different (it seemed they couldn't find a match set. Not like they cared) and the head of the table had a stack of papers on it. Five people sat at the table. All of them had their hoods up, and one of them, who was sitting at the head of the table, was wearing a white cloak.

"Sit down, please" One of them said, though they where unsure who. Hawkeye and Mustang took a seat at the opposite end of the table, and while some soldiers sat down with them, others remained standing. Number 39 and Number 50 exited the room.

"I'm East Central Number 1" Said the man wearing the white cloak. _East Central?_ Mustang thought in concern. _Does that mean there's more than one Number 1's?_

"The other ladies and gentlemen sitting here with you are East Central Number's 2 through 5" He explained. "We are the leaders of this branch"

"Branch?" Said Hawkeye in concern. "Does that mean there's more than one of you?"

"Yes and no." He said. "Branch leaders often share the same number, but once you get a higher number than 10, you will seldom see two people of the same number. Most members are assigned to a particular branch, but they can be transferred any time. Much like you soldiers. But yes, there are more than one branch of our Ultimate Religion. And we are much more popular than you would like to imagine"

"Many of the disappearances that have happened over the years are a result of us" Said a female voice. They were unsure which one she was. "When someone joins us, we usually try to fake their deaths, but sometimes that just get's to complicated, so we let them be marked as a missing person"

"We know exactly who to target, and when to target them." Said another voice, this time belonging to a male. "We draw them in, and keep them in this cult. Most people love it here. The one's who don't know better than to leave"

"Why are you telling us this?" Mustang asked.

"So you know what you're up against" Said Number 1. "We're big. We have a lot of members, and we know how to pull strings. We have a few demands we would like to make, Mustang. And now that you know who we are, hopefully you will know better than to deny us of these demands"

 _So it was a threat._ Mustang thought. _They're telling us how big there numbers are and how easily they can gain new members so we feel threatened. I guess that's also why they were watching us as we were walking down the halls. They want us to feel uneasy._

"What do you want?" Mustang finally asked.

"As you where already told, we plan to resurrect our God. But we need a few things to do that. First request we have to make; There are certain people we want to remain alive. That would be you yourself, Mustang, along with Alphonse Elric, Izumi Curtis, and, most importantly, Edward Elric. Other people we would prefer alive, but if they died it wouldn't be _as_ big of a deal, are May Chang, and Tim Marco. It's a simple request, I'd say"

"It is. We will keep them alive, but not because you want us too" Mustang replied.

"Second request; you will leave our facility alone. If someone enters this place when we do not wish them to, unless they can be useful, we will kill them without a second thought. So I'd advise you take this request to heart" Number 1 continued.

"That seems fair enough, though I can't promis you we will head to this request" Mustang said.

"Then you will be killed as soon as you step foot in here" Number 1 said simply, before continuing on with his other request. "My third request is this," He said, grabbing a small box from under the table, and sliding it over to Mustang and Hawkeye. Mustang opened the box to see it full of syringes for collecting blood.

"We need enough blood to fill one of the syringes, from one of every living person related to Van Hoenhiem. Or, to put it simply, blood from the Elric brothers, and their children."

"Why do you need their blood?" Mustang asked suspiciously.

"That's our business," Number 1 growled. "You just need to get us the blood, otherwise we will turn to more... _forced_ methods of collecting blood from them"

"Is that all your request?" Mustang asked, feeling on edge. These request were odd, but somehow fit with what they where trying to accomplish. Blood from relatives of Hoenhiem was the closest they where going to get to the blood of the Homunculus himself. What they planned to do with the blood was a mystery. It would make sense that they wouldn't want the military snooping around their facilities, and it seemed that they wanted the Homunculi's 'human sacrifices' alive. Time Marco was labeled a candidate for sacrifice back before the Promis Day, and as for May Chang; she was an strong alkehestris, and she had been through the pain of miscarriages, and loosing her unborn children quite a few times. It was no mystery why the cult would label her a candidate for sacrifice.

"Anything else you want?" Mustang prompted. He needed to get as much information as he could. He didn't quite believe that he and his men could take on the entire cult at the moment, mostly because the amount of men he brought with him were far outnumbered by the amount of members in the cult. He would play it by year, as it was the only thing he could do in this moment.

"One more request, actually," said Number 1. "We want Selim Bradley"

Mustang should've seen this coming. From what he knew of Selim Bradley, the boy, though he aged, aged really slowly, and though it had been 21 years since they defeated Pride and turned him back to his mother during the Promis Day, Selim had the physical and mental maturity of a 10-year-old boy; around the same age he was thought to be when he was still a homunculus. As he was still a homunculus, Selim also healed very quickly, recovering from the average bruises and scrapes a young boy would gain by playing too rough in less time than it would take a human. It wasn't instant healing powers like an average homunculus had, but scratches that would take humans at least a week to heal from would be gone from Selim's body in less than two days. As far as they knew, Selim had little to nothing left of the philosopher's stone that made him, so his slow aging and somewhat quick healing were due more to his uniquely made body, and less to do with a Philosopher's Stone. Grumman had been giving Mustang updates on Selim whenever he visited Ms. Bradley's house, but very few people had actually _seen_ Selim since the promis day. The boy was kept sheltered, in fear of him becoming 'Pride' once again, and in fear of something like this happening.

"And what if we refuse to give him to you?" Mustang asked cooly and calmly, hoping for the hopeful answer he knew he wasn't gonna get.

"Then, like with the blood, we will use forced methods of attaining Selim Bradley." Number 1 explained. "We _will_ have these request filled out. It's only a matter if you comply with us or not."

"Anything else you would like to tell us?" Mustang questioned.

"No" Number 1 said. "You and your soldiers may leave"

The door to the conference room opened once again. Number 39 and Number 50 stood in the door frame, probably to escort them out. Mustang considered fighting the cult and using the fight as a distraction to explore more of the facility, and try to figure out what their plan is, but he decided that, since the group he brought with him were outnumbered, and most likely outgunned, he would just be putting his men in danger. He would leave, tell both the Fuhrer and the Elrics of this disturbing turn of events, and come back when they had a battle strategy.

"Take the syringes with you" Number 1 said.

Mustang made a quick decision. They would not comply with the cult's request, and would do anything possible to keep the request from being forfilled. He slid the box of syringes back over to the members of the cult. "Your plan will not succeed" He stated.

Number 1 almost looked disappointed, but it was hard to tell with his cloak and hood. "I was hoping to negotiate peacefully. It would've made things better for you and easier for us. But I guess not. Goodbye for now, Mustang"

* * *

"A cult!?" The Fuhrer said in surprise when Mustang relaid the news to her. "An entire cult living underground and we never knew about it"

"I honestly thought the war between us and the homunculi was over" Mustang explained.

"What do they want?" Armstrong asked. Hawkeye handed her a file, where she had written down everything that they knew about the cult so far. Granted to say, the file wasn't very big.

"Their end goal is to bring the father of the homunculi back to life," Mustang explained. "They think it's possible because he wasn't a life form in the first place, and therefor the laws of human transmutation wouldn't apply to him"

"I see" Armstrong said, scanning the report. She quickly read the request. "So they want the sacrifices to remain alive. Wasn't like we planned on killing them in the first place. They want us to stay out of their facility. That won't be hard, but they might find this request denied. Blood from relatives of Hoenhiem, and Selim Bradley. Well, their request all somewhat fit with their goal. Human sacrifices helped the homunculi open the portal the last time, and if they plan to 'steal him from alchemy' as it says here, they would need the portal opened. Did they happen to mention what these 'forced methods' are?"

"No" Mustang answered, "but I assume it would mean fighting the Elrics and taking their blood unwillingly. As for Selim, they would take it upon themselves to kidnap him."

"Well, I assumed that much," Armstrong said to herself. She then put the file on her desk. "I want the Elrics under extra protection. Tell Alphonse to keep his family in Risimbule. It will be easier to keep watch of him there than in the town he placed his residence in. Major General Hawkeye, you will be in charge of guarding them"

"Yes sir" Hawkeye said with a nod.

"General Mustang, keep the Universal Alchemist on close watch. Unless you can keep track of his actions and whereabouts, do not send him on a mission outside of Central. And I want Selim moved."

"To where?" Mustang asked.

"Somewhere where he wont feel threatened, but somewhere were he will remain safe. And keep the knowledge this transaction between as few people as possible." Armstrong demanded.

"Do you really think this cult is that much of a threat?" Mustang questioned.

"The Ishvallen killer was a woman who was proclaimed dead at infant age. The corpse we assume set off the Lior bomb also had no legal identity. We found a figure print on a Drachmens corpse, which belonged to a soldier who supposedly died in a border scrimmage between Argo and Amestris. Not to mention the dozens of street fights and technical accidents that lead to bloodshed over the years, all accompanied by a witness report of people in blue cloaks. I even have reason to believe that the train bombing that Elric's children got caught up in was planned by this cult. They've been planning this for a long time, and successfully kept hidden. That's a sign of danger, and the last thing we should do is underestimate them. Even if their goal is impossible, it's obvious they will do anything to try to achieve it. "

"Should we send someone to storm their base?" Mustang asked, throwing out that battle strategy. He thought that maybe, with enough fire power, it could be possible to storm the cult. But then again, there was a lot of things they didn't know about this cult, and that was dangerous.

"Not yet. Not until we know more about them at least. Going in blind is stupid, and a death wish. If we're fighting a battle against a seemingly intelligent organization, we need to make sure we outnumber them, as well as out-power and outsmart," The Fuhrer placed the file on her desk, sat down, grabbed paper and a pen, and started writing something. Upon checking, Mustang realized she was thinking up possible war strategies.

"Got a plan?" He asked.

Oddly enough, the Fuhrer smirked. "I will" She replied.

* * *

" _What_!?" Ed said in surprise. "Your kidding me! Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke!"

Edward had just been told about the cult, and he was not taking the news well.

"Hawkeye is coming to your house with extra guards" Mustang heard Ed groan from the other side. "It's for the protection of both you and your family," Mustang explained. "By orders of the Fuhrer herself. She is taking extra precautions to make sure that the cult won't be able to go through with their plan"

"Do you really think they can bring the Homunculi back?" Ed asked.

"I'm not sure," Mustang said with a sigh. "Wether it's impossible or not, however, doesn't matter. What matter's is that they're gonna try hard, and if their plans mean bloodshed, than we have to stop them"

"Damn it" Ed sighed. "I thought it was over"

"We all did" Mustang agreed. "Fullmetal, you're not a member of the military any more. You're a civilian. Remember that,"

"Yeah I think I noticed. Why bring it up?"

"I'm telling you about this cult because I think you should know, considering your involvement in the Promis Day, and the possibility that the cult will target _your_ family" Mustang stated. "I am _not_ giving you this information so you can involve yourself or put yourself in danger. Leave it to the soldiers. Got that?"

"Yeah, I got it" Ed replied, albeit a bit begrudgingly. His family now had a target painted on their backs thanks to this cult. Ed wasn't sure how long he could sit still for. "I have a question though; what about my son?"

"The Fuhrer has instructed that Andy will only carry out missions in Central, and if he does not, he must be accompanied by me" Mustang informed Ed. "Trust me, I will keep him safe. This cult, or whatever it is, will not touch your son"

* * *

Team Elric had been rather excited about their mission to the West, because it seemed as if it would be the first case they would be assigned that _wasn't_ a forensics project. So, they where all less than pleased when Mustang revoked their mission, and even less happy when he refused to tell them why.

"Seriously!?" Andy snapped upon hearing the news. "My teams been preparing for this mission for the past week, and this is the first exciting thing we've gotten to do since, well, since our team first formed! You can't seriously be revoking this on us?!"

"I am 'seriously revoking this' on you," Mustang snapped sternly, leaning back on his desk and looking Andy directly in the eye. The boy was nearly as tall as him, which surprised Mustang, considering who he got his gene's from. Still, he wouldn't be intimidated by Major Elric. He was of lower rank, and, no matter how much he complained, in the end, Andy had to listen to Mustangs orders. If this was Edward, and underaged child state alchemist who didn't even have to wear the military uniform, he might have gotten away with sneaking off and doing the mission anyways. But Alexander Elric was 18, no longer just 'a rank equivalent to a major', and knew very well he was an official member of the Amestrian military. Andy chose this job, so that meant he had to take the words of his superior officer's as the words of God, however begrudgingly he does so. "You and your family might be in danger, and I have order's from the Fuhrer herself to keep you where I can see you"

"And I'm guessing your not going to bother telling me what this 'danger' is, are you," It wasn't a question, Andy knew he wasn't going to get any information out of Mustang.

"Right now the 'danger' is none of your concern" Mustang explained sternly. "The only people informed of this are the higher up's in the military"

"Then I assume this has something to do with the tunnels you found in the sewers" Andy threw out, hoping to trap Mustang into a situation where Mustang would be forced to tell Andy what he wanted. Mustang, however, didn't fall for traps as easily as Andy was hoping.

"You are not to worry about those tunnels, Universal" Mustang demanded. "Not unless commanded otherwise. And you will not question the methods of your superior officers. It's very likely that we know more than you. If I see you anywhere near those tunnels, or even if I see you in the sewers, I will not hesitate to court marshal you" Mustang had finally made his final threat. One that Andy couldn't ignore. As much as Andy hated that his team was underestimated, he loved his job as a State Alchemist, and a court marshal was something he couldn't risk. "Do you understand?" Mustang asked sternly.

"Yes, _sir_ " Andy snapped back, his voice full of venom and sarcasm. "But I'll have you know, I didn't become a State Alchemist just to be held on a short leash and caged in Central"

"Then you didn't know what you signed up for" Mustang said cooly and calmly, leaving no room for arguments. There was no retort Andy could make that would counter Mustang's statement.

Andy gave his superior officer a dirty look and marched out of the room.

* * *

As soon as their Major entered the room, Andy's entire team could tell that there mission had been revoked and there was no way to change this. Elicia hung her head with sadness "So I'm guessing he said no" She said. Before being assigned to Andy's team, the most Elicia had been allowed to do was paper work, and while her skill at putting cases and unrelated criminal activities together was able to gain her multiple promotions, Elicia had always felt that she was better suited in the field, especially with her quick reflexes.

Team Elric got they're own office as a reward for their work on the Ishvallan Murderer Case. The office was small, smaller than Mustang's side-office that Team Elric would usually take refuge in, and it was right over the boiler room, so any type of water-work that went on in Central Command would make the boiler erupt a loud, audible growl. It was no wonder this was the only current office available for them. But it was the office none the less, and the team was quick to move their stuff into it, despite not having a chance to work in it before they where sent off to Lior.

"And he wouldn't give me a damn reason why!" Andy snapped bitterly. "But apparently the Fuhrer demanded it. And if we go down the sewers to try to find what was there, we're gonna get Court Marshaled"

"Man, the Fuhrer?" Yuki said in surprise. "That must mean something big is going on"

"But if something dangerous is happening you'd think Mustang would bother to tell us!" Andy snapped back. He hated being left in the dark like this. "It has something to do with those tunnels he made _me_ lead him into. We're not kids. We're legal adults and official members of the military. We have the rights to know!"

"There's probably a good reason dad didn't tell us what's happening" Lizzie said, sitting on her desk with her legs folded. "He usually doesn't do things without a good reason"

"He probably thinks by not telling us he can keep us from getting involved" Elicia justified. "Whatever it is, he probably just wants us to be safe from it. I mean, he's practically like our uncle, we've known him so long. Well, you, me, and Lizzie I mean"

"And Dad probably has a hand in this" Andy muttered. "I haven't heard much from him lately, but according to Tris, Dad and Mustang have been calling each other non-stop. He's been stressing out a lot lately"

"Wait!" Lance suddenly shouted. The sandy blond boy had startled his other team mates. But, at least in his opinion, what Lance Morgan had to say was important. "Tris is planning to drive down to visit you in the next week right?"

"Yeah, she's driving here again" Andy said exasperated. He wasn't sure how much he liked his sister's habit of illegally driving. By Central Law, she was only allowed to have her permit, but she used the different laws in the East to loophole her way out. Plus she was a good driver, and never really came across a traffic MP. "She might take a detour to Ishval since she want's to see Roshan again, but she should get here by around next week"

"Cool" Lance said, "because I have an idea"

"This isn't gonna end well" Yuki muttered. Lance's ideas generally ended up with the team getting in trouble.

Lance choose to ignore her. "If we can convince Tris to go explore those tunnels the military found, wouldn't it make logical sense that her big brother would go in and rescue her?"

"No" Andy said firmly. He usually liked Lance's ideas, but if Tris got hurt again... "There is no way we're putting my baby sister in that kind of danger"

"You don't have to put her in danger," Lance explained. "She can hang out in that crawlspace thing until we come to get her. Then, about a half an hour after she goes in, we can go in after her. We explore the tunnel's ourselves and one of us can stay with Tris and make sure she doesn't go anywhere dangerous"

"That sounds reasonable," Elicia started, "But we were threatened a Court Marshal if we went through the tunnels. We'd be blaming Tris for disobeying such strict orders. I don't want to get her in trouble..."

"Please, all she'd get is a slap on the wrist from her mom, and her dad would secretly pat her on the back!" Lizzie stated, slightly envious of how little Tris and Andy both got in trouble for, especially compared to her and Mae—, actually, now that Lizzie thought about it, Maes didn't get in trouble often, mostly since her goody two-shoes brother knew how to keep out of trouble.

"That is true" Andy confirmed. "But I still don't like it. She already lost her arm, and her life. There was no possible way I could've protected her then, but I have to do all I can to protect her now.

"Maybe we should ask Tris about this" Yuki mentioned.

"You kidding?!" Andy snapped in disbelief. "We bring this up to her and she'd say yes right away. Tris doesn't care what kind of danger she get's into. She's like me and my dad in that way, but _I_ care. That's why I don't want to bring this up to her until we decide on something official"

* * *

 _Two Weeks Later_

"He wasn't there" Cora McGravin explained to the five council members of the Grand Religion of Homunculus. She had recently been sent out to capture Selim, but she searched the area she was sent to thoroughly, and there was no sign of him, or anyone for that matter. "Either he was moved again or was never there in the first place,"

"Damn it!" Number 4 shouted, her harsh voice echoing through their large worship room which they currently stood in. "This is a major setback"

"And it seems the military has no intention of handing the requested items over to us." Number 2 mused.

"Without Selim we can't finish the circle" Number 5 said in a panicky voice. "We'll never be done before Optimum Time!"

"Yes we will" Snapped the firm voice of Number 1. "We will be finished. Plan A will never happen and it's obvious Plan B isn't working. We need to revert to Plan C. Do you think you could carry it out, Ms. McGravin?"

McGravin smiled confidently. "Consider it done, East Central Number 1"

* * *

Winry owned a small mechanics garage in the Risimbule town area. She would work on her automail there when she didn't want the disruption of kids. Edward was currently bringing her lunch, homemade grilled cheese by Yuri (because of all the current house guest, Yuri and Winry where the only one's who could cook).

Ed opened the door, saying "Winry! I brought you lunch!" However, the sight inside the room made him freeze at the door frame, dropping the sandwich, a look of utter horror on his face.

The room was trashed; gears and parts laying about in a way Winry would never let them. Then there was the blood. Tons of blood covered the floors, walls, and other objects throughout the room. It was obvious whatever happened to Winry the body guards sent with her couldn't defend her from.

Ed ran to Winry's work desk, hoping to find a clue as to where she went. There were small amounts of blood on the desk as well. But the worst of it was the note that Ed found, and a fine clue as to what happened.

 _We have her. Would you like to comply with our demands now?_

* * *

 **Dun dun dun!**

 **What's gonna happen now? What became of Winry? Will Ed be able to save her? And will Team Elric ever go through with the Trisha plan? Find out in the next chapters!**

 **A few details to point out. Whenever I discuss things in narrative or dialogue by the cult's point of view, and they're talking about Homunculus (or Father, or whatever) they capitalize the He like one does when talking about God. This is to press the motif of them valuing Homunculus like a God a bit more.**

 **Leave a review! Tell me what you think! And if you have any idea's on what to do with this story in the future, please tell me, because I will be happy to take suggestions! (I do have a plan, but I still want more new idea's)**

 **Also, I am in a predicament. I can't seem to get Olivia's character quite right no matter how hard I try. Any suggestions for this?**

 **And TheRoseAlchemist17, I expect a thorough, _long_ review from you! And I expect it soon!**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Last Homunculus (Part I)

**Hello, hello! I am back with another chapter!**

 **Really sorry it's been awhile. But between my penchant for writing other stories, school kicking my ass, and an overall lack of inspiration for this story in particular, I haven't updated in a LOOOONNNNGGGGG time. But now I have inspiration and time, plus I'm making this story my number one priority, despite the many other stories I have to work on. So yay!**

 **I apologies for last chapter's cliff-hanger, but I had to. Because why not?**

 **Just to clear up some confusion on how much everybody's kids know, none of the second generation know's much about their parents past. Some know more than others (the elder children will know more than the younger children of course) but nobody knows what a philosopher's stone is made of, or that much about the homunculi. They know about Ed and Al being a state alchemist and losing their bodies, and they also know homunculi tried to take over the world, but they don't know anything else, including how many homunculi there actually where, or their names. Nina, however, was told that one of the homunculi looked like their grandfather, and Tris know's that Ling shared a body with one, but that will be explained later.**

 **Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist is not mine. Nor will it ever be.**

 **And without further ado, on with the show!**

 **P.S. PLEASE READ THE ENDNOTE I HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO**

* * *

Chapter 11: The Last Homunculus

* * *

Selim Bradley had very few friends. Most of this was to do with how all his friends grew up faster than he did. Selim didn't understand why he aged so slowly. Currently, he was ten years old, despite how Amelia Bryan, one of his best friends from the small private school he went to, was twice his age, and already part of the military, much like her father. Amelia had probably forgotten about him. And so had Lavender, and Logan, and Luke, and Gavin. Maxine, Alexia, George, William, and Wyatt will also forget about him, when they grow older, and leave him behind.

Of course, there was also his mother, the old Fuhrer Grumman, and the staff at his house. Grumman, however, had passed away a long time ago. His mother was inching through her 90's, and he knew she would also, eventually, pass on. It was a lonely life he lived, the life of a homunculus.

That's what everyone said he was. He always knew he wasn't exactly human. But then he learned that not only was he not human, but he was also artificially created. This realization was a shock to him, and his already miserable life became even more miserable. He wasn't like the other kids. His slow aging would never allow him to bond with anyone.

Of course, Selim tried to ignore this, and live a happy life. _I'm fine by myself,_ he would tell himself. Deep down, he knew this wasn't true.

The current Fuhrer had demanded that he be moved. He was going from house to house, not staying in one location for very long. He was told this was for his safety, and that external forces where posing a threat to him, but he would stop being moved once it's over with. He was fine with being moved, it allowed him to see more. He barely got to go anywhere; apparently, his existence was a big secrete. The only people who knew him where the kids in his small private school, that only kids of rich and knowing military members went to. He liked being moved. He liked being somewhere else besides the small world he was forced into.

The life of Selim Bradley was a lonely one indeed.

* * *

Tris urged her car to drive faster. She pressed the gas peddle as hard as she could, trying to get to Central. It was late at night. Her dad and Yuri where probably at Central by now; the benefit of taking the train. But, even after what happened to her mother, Tris couldn't bring herself to step into that contraption of death.

If she where honest with herself, Tris hated cars. They where the slow, cost a lot of money to refuel on gas, and, since trains where the main form of transportation in Amestris, Tris was always faced with the difficulties of driving across a lack of proper roads. By train, it takes an average of six hours to get to Central, even less if it doesn't stop for fuel. Tris had been driving for six hours, and she was barely a third of the way there. She was starting to wish she let Nina come in the car with her, since it was a very lonely ride.

"Go faster!" She yelled out, giving the gas petal another hard kick as to give herself a burst of speed. She knew what Nina would say if she had drove with her. _"Keep driving like this and your gonna run out of fuel half way to central"_. Nina was right.

The car suddenly stopped. "DAMN IT!" Tris shouted, slamming her automail hand into the steering wheal, denting it a little. She then started to break down, tears flowing out of her eyes. She had a policy not to cry when she could still do something about it. Right now, that policy meant nothing. She felt like a coward. Her mother needed her, and she was stuck in the middle of nowhere because she couldn't get in the damn train.

* * *

Andy _was_ having a normal day. The "Trisha Plan" was still on the shelf, and his team had been discussing wether to put it into action or not once Tris took her visit to Central. That was what they where supposed to be doing. Of course, if Elicia gets plans for a date, everything goes off-book.

"Riley's gonna take me to _Veronica's_!" Elicia squealed. "Can you believe it!? He's so romantic. He really cares. You can't get a better boyfriend than him"

"Seriously, Elicia!" Yuki snapped at her friend, "We have to fill out the paper's for this case by _tomorrow_! Everyone has to pitch in. Including you"

"Right, right. Work" Elicia replied, grabbing a pen and starting on the paper work. "You get so stressed out about this stuff"

"Well, I _rather_ not get demoted, thank you very much!" Yuki snapped.

"So, is the Trisha Plan a yes or a no?" Lance asked his team, pulling them back to the topic they where originally discussing.

"I told you, I don't like it" Andy explained. "We can't put her in danger like that"

"But if she doesn't actually go into the creepy place, it'll be fine" Lizzie reminded him, fashioning her gold hair into a braid and leaving it at the front of her right shoulder.

"Do you honestly think Tris _won't_ go into the creepy place?" Andy explained. "She's bound to go in there, then who know's what could happen"

It was then that the phone for Andy's office rang. Andy smiled. He liked phone calls, since they either meant a call from home, or a job opportunity.

"The Universal Alchemist speaking, how may I help you?" Andy greeted flamboyantly, a smile on his face. His teammates listened in. They heard silence as whoever was on the other side of the line spoke to Andy. His smile suddenly disappeared.

His eyes wen't wide. He dropped the phone. He fell to his knees.

"Andy, what happened!?" Lizzie suddenly yelled.

"Mom" Andy said quietly. His face suddenly grew angry. He stood up, grabbed his father's coat from his desk chair, and put it on as he walked out of the office. Lizzie ran out after him.

"Andy, hat happened?!" She shouted with worry.

"Those bastards!" He shouted in response. Lizzie continued to follow Andy. "I'm gonna find them, then destroy everything they have until I find my mother!"

* * *

"BASTARD!" Andy shouted in fury. He currently stood in front of the door to exit the military headquarters. The only problem was that Mustang, along with a few other guards, where blocking his path. "LET ME THROUGH, _NOW_ "

"No," Mustang said simply. "I have not given you permission to investigate the organization we are dealing with. You will not go near it"

"Damn it, Mustang, let me through!" Andy snapped. "Right now, the organization has my _mom_ , and if I don't do something, they'll kill her!"

"If you dive in recklessly and provoke them, they'll probably kill her as well" Mustang pointed out. "Rushing in there without a plan and without a level head is _stupid_. Without exception"

Andy heaved, clenching his fist, his face contorted into an angry glare. He shouted out a scream of anguish, and punched the wall, panting as he left his fist on it.

"Your father already told me of the situation." Mustang continued to elaborate. "He should be heading here as we speak. We'll discuss a plan then"

* * *

To say that Edward Elric was angry would be an understatement. But he wasn't just angry. He was upset, scared, and sad. He felt broken. The threat of the homunculi was supposed to have ended years ago. There wasn't supposed to be some rotten cult. Nobody was supposed to be dead set on resurrecting the homunculi. This wasn't supposed to happen at all! Why, after all these years, did his family have to, once again, be the target of pain and suffering?

He sat in a conference room inside Central Command, with other people who were aware of the events on the promis day. At the head of the conference table, sat the Fuhrer, arms crossed and a scowl on her face, as she held the note that Winry's captors had left.

"This note was examined for finger prints." Fuhrer Armstrong explained. "The writer seemed to be Cora McGravin. The blood at the crime scene was also examined. None of the blood seemed to belong to either Winry Elric or McGravin. That means that Winry has yet to be harmed, as far as we know, but that also means that McGravin was able to kill her body guards without receiving so much of a scratch. This marks her as dangerous. We can also assume that this _cult_ has equally if not more dangerous people. Which means that fighting them on their own turf would be foolhardy, especially since they probably will be guarding the only entrance we know about; the one in the sewers."

"Then what's to stop us from making our own entrance?" Ed snapped, not making eye contact with anyone, simply glaring at the table.

"Because we might walk into a room with a hundred members, all armed. Or we may end up standing on a giant transmutation circle, and if one person is in the room, they could turn the entire rescue party into a philosopher's stone, just like that" Armstrong explained. She let out a hum, the cogs in her head spinning. "We can't fulfill this cults request. Our best option might be to ignore the situation"

Ed slammed his fist into the table, standing up in anger, and knocking the chair over. "So you're suggesting we just let Winry die?!" He shouted in anger.

"If it come's down to it, yes." The Fuhrer replied honestly. "Whatever this cult is planning may cause trouble for the entire country, so letting one person die would be better than risking the lives of millions of people. However, I am not as inclined to do so, since the cult could use this against us, via propaganda to gain more members. What we need to do is create a situation where, no matter what we do, we can't loose. Which would be hard considering the position we are in. I'm open to ideas."

"We can't just bust in and wreck havoc" Mustang said. "That could get us killed. When we had explored the cult, their members seemed to be everywhere. They where constantly following us, and their numbers seemed to increase the farther we went into their facility. They definitely outnumbered the amount of men we brought in with us." Mustang suddenly shuttered. "Then there where the worshipers. There had to be at least one hundred of them." He turned to his wife. "Did you see them, Hawkeye?"

"Yes. I tried to count them, but wasn't able to finish before our 'escort' arrived" Hawkeye explained. "I was able to get to forty, but that was just a small group of them"

"And assuming by what that Number 1 guy said about 'branches', there are a lot more members than even the one's we saw" Breda pointed out.

"They're large in numbers. We know little about them or their facility. They're crazy, and not afraid to die. They have extensive means of gaining members, and causing chaos. They are hell bent on achieving their goal, and they are holding Elrics wife as a hostage. And I say it's safe to assume that their not afraid to take more hostages if necessary" Armstrong thought out loud, tapping a pen on a notepad on the table. "That's a lot of odd's stacked against us"

"And it's not like we can out-muscle them without risking numerous casualties." Havoc mentioned. He then turned to Ed, a guilty look on his face. "I hate to say it, Ed, but it looks like our only option so far is to let Winry die"

Ed scowled. He didn't want to admit it, but right now, it seemed as if that _was_ the only option, unless they wanted to risk the cults victory and hand over Selim. That was when an idea came to him.

"Maybe we tell them we're going to give them Selim," Ed said, a small smile on his face, as the clogs joyously spun in his head, producing an idea.

"Like I said, we can't—" The Fuhrer started, but Ed didn't let her finish.

"Let me finish," He commanded. "We tell this cult we're gonna give them Selim and the blood. Instead, we give them random blood, and a fake Selim. We get Winry back, and we don't loose anything!"

"A fake Selim?" Armstrong questioned.

"Well," Alphonse elaborated, "it is possible to make a fake body with alchemy, but wouldn't they suspect something?"

"Andy found a type of circle that smoothes out transmutation marks. We can use that to make the body look real," Mustang added.

"We can tell them that he's asleep, and then run out on them before they can take a pulse" Ed planned.

"That sounds extremely risky," Armstrong commented, "but if we demand to make a trade near the exit, it's possible to escape before the cult members can perform any sort of action. If Alphonse or Mustang seal up the entrance as soon as everyone is inside the crawl pipe, they can make a quick escape. It's risky, but it's a plan that only requires a few men. And it's better than letting this cult gain a victory. I approve. Let's start as soon as possible!"

* * *

Winry slowly opened her eyes. It was the third day of her capture. She felt thirsty, but she wouldn't get water for another hour. Her only source of telling time was the shadows on the prison floor.

Edward had told her about a cult. A cult that was hell-bent on bringing back his old enemies. She told him she'd help in anyway she could. Now she was being used against him. How come she could never truly help her friends?!

She was being held inside a small cage in what seemed to be a storage room. There was a pothole in the ceiling that let in sunlight, but not that much. The cage she was locked in had a wood base and ceiling, with walls made of iron bars. The cage was small. Too small for her to sit up. She can only fit in it by laying on her side, and the cage was too small for her to roll over. It wasn't very long either; she had to curl her legs up to fit in. Her hands where tied behind her back. It was not an ideal prison spot.

They would spoon-feed her water every 2 hours, and gave her a meal of some sort of mush 2 times a day. She was let out once to go to the bathroom, and that was the only walking she'd been allowed. Her condition was less than pleasant. She hopped she would get out soon, but she was prepared to die. After all, if whatever demands her capturer made couldn't be forfilled, they would likely kill her.

An hour later, her prison manager finally came in with the water.

"Sip," The woman commanded. Winry had learned that her prison manager was a woman who called herself Number 165. She was the only human that Winry had seen since her kidnapping. Winry sipped the water from the small bucket handed out. A small bit of it dripped down her face, and onto her jacket. She was wearing the jacket that Tris had given her. She wondered how her kids where doing now.

She knew Ed would go to Central to make plans. Yuri would probably go with him. By now, Andy would've also have heard the news. Tris was probably driving to Central. She might have even been there already.

"Did you have a family?" Winry suddenly asked. She and Number 165 didn't have a single conversation so far, and Winry wasn't planing to change that. But Winry had been dying to talk to someone.

"What?" Number 165 responded curtly.

"Did you have a family? Before you became part of this cult," Winry elaborated.

" _Ultimate Religion_!" Number 165 corrected, sounding angry. "And yes, I had parents if you really want to know. They were weak and foolish; They tried to leave our Religion. I will never forgive them for their crimes against our God"

"What happened to them?" Winry asked.

"What do you think?!" Number 165 snapped. "They where killed for their betrayal, of course. But I remained loyal, so I was spared. But, because of those fools, my own community knows me as the daughter of traitors, despite me being born into this cult. I hate them for that,"

"Gee, I wonder why they left," Winry muttered sarcastically.

"You wouldn't understand. You don't know His greatness," Number 165 responded. "Only we understand. But when we bring Him back to Earth, the rest of the world will know. We will make them realize it. We can all continue to feel his greatness forever when we live inside of him,"

"What do you mean by that?" Winry asked.

"He may turn this entire world into a philosophers stone. And we will be happy with that. Because there is no greater honor than living inside of our God,"

 _This entire cult is insane_ _!_ Winry thought. "Did you ever consider what your life would be like if you _weren't_ part of this cult,"

Number 165 laughed a cruel laugh. "Now, why would I wonder that?" She asked mockingly. "I can only assume that any life I would've lead would've been inferior to the life I live now!" And with that, Number 165 turned to exit the room. Winry hoped that a conversation would lift her spirits, but all it did was put her in a worse mood.

* * *

Tris rushed into Mustangs office with a chaotic kick of the door. She saw her father at the far end of the room. "I'm sorry it took so long!" She shouted, rushing up to him. "The car broke down, and I had to walk for hours, then I had to hitchhike, and the car I went in couldn't have driven _more slowly_!" She wailed. "All because I'm too much of a coward to take the damn train!"

"Trisha, it's alright," Her father told her, pulling her into a hug and ruffling her hair. "You don't have to force yourself to face your fears just yet. Besides, you got here didn't you?"

"It took so damn long!" Tris cried angrily.

"Not like it mattered. We wouldn't have been allowed to take part in the planning anyways," Andy told her bitterly, approaching his sister. Tris's hand immediately latched onto his like a magnet. She always found comfort with her big brother.

"But your helping, aren't you?" Ed reminded his son. "The body's ready?"

"Yep. No transmutation marks shown," Andy confirmed.

"Good, take Tris outside," Ed commanded to his son. Andy grumbled, but obeyed.

Once his kids where out of the room, Ed went to check on how everything was going. Alphonse had transmuted some fake blood, which where currently being stored in syringes. The fake Selim body looked real enough. They just hopped that it would fool the cult long enough to get the hell away from their facility.

The team that would be sent in assembled themselves. Ed and Al would be going in, of course, along with Hawkeye, Havoc, Breda, Fury, Ross, Brosh, Catalina, and two people that Ed didn't really recognize; Samantha Harthor and Carl Marks. Harthor was a conspirator, and while she didn't enlist in the military until after the Promis Day, she was an old friend of Catalina, who had always believed the Fuhrer to be evil, and eventually found out about the true intentions on the promis day. Marks was an old friend of Mustang, who fought with the others on the promis day. At least that's what Ed heard.

The room was full of light hearted conversation, which was strange considering how everyone was about to walk to what might have been their deaths. Catalina was arguing with her kids on the phone; it seemed one of them planned to go out that day, but due to both her parents taking on a mission, she had to stay home to look after her siblings. Fury was by the door having a conversation with Sheska, assuring her that he'd be home in time to say goodnight to their son. Breda was making a phone call of his own to his wife at home. Ross and Brosh where joking with each other about how their kids would be disappointed that they weren't coming home early. Marks just hung up a phone call from his wife, giving Harthor a turn to call her parents and tell them that she would be missing dinner. When Catalina started shouting angrily into the phone, Havoc took it from her in an attempt to convince his daughter not to go out that night in a more calm fashion. Judging by his scowl, it didn't seem to be working.

Everyone was talking to or about their family. Ed didn't know whether he found it comforting, or wether it made him feel on edge, as if everyone where saying their final goodbye's, but disguising them as pleasant conversation. Ed didn't usually take comfort in God, but right now, he was praying that everything would turn out alright. Because if he lost Winry, or anyone else for that matter... Well, he didn't want to think about it.

"Is everything ready?" Mustangs commanding voice suddenly rain out. All banter ceased. "In ten minutes we are moving out,"

Ed stepped outside, facing his kids. Al was already talking with Nina and May. Andy sat outside on the floor, Tris laying her head in his lap, and he quietly stroked his sisters hair. Yuri was sitting next to Tris, squeezing her automail hand with a death grip.

"Are you kids okay?" Ed asked them.

"Just peachy," Andy grumbled sarcastically. "Who doesn't love having their mom get kidnapped for a reason you've been left in the dark about,"

Ed sighed. He can tell Andy was frustrated and irritated. "It's... something to do with my past," Ed explained to him.

"Yes, your awful past that you won't tell us jack shit about," Andy snapped bitterly. "You know, I'm eighteen. My mom's just been kidnapped. I've been locked in central for some unknown reason. Hell, I lived through a train reck, that, if I didn't know better, has something to do with your big secrete," Tris paled at the mention of the train reck. Andy's face was contorted into one of anger. "It took my little sister's arm! I'm about to loose my mother! And all your giving me is 'it's something to do with my past'?!"

"Andy!" Yuri snapped, standing up. "Stop! Dad's got a reason for keeping this stuff. Have you ever thought of that?!"

"Yeah, I have!" Andy shouted back, standing up as well, towering over his little brother with his greatly superior hight. "And I don't give a shit!"

"You don't give a shit about anything!" Yuri shouted. "Your always yelling at everybody. It's always something. Weather it's restrictions, secretes, anything! You get so mad at everything and you never take a second to think of the reasons they happen!"

"Maybe it's because nobody ever tells me the reasons!" Andy snapped back. "I am so sick of not knowing things!"

"Andy!" Tris suddenly snapped from her lonely spot on the floor. "Stop. Please" She begged, grabbing her big brothers hands with hers. Andy sighed and sat down. After a second, Yuri did the same.

"I know you kids are upset," Ed told them. "And you both have every right to be. But, the reason I don't tell you anything is..." Ed hesitated. He felt a great weight on his chest, one he hand't felt in a long time. "It's a time in my life that was painful. Really painful. I was beaten and broken more than once. And it's happening again. And I don't tell you because I don't want to see you three break. You mean the world to me. And, I don't want to hurt you. I mean, after what happened with Tris..."

Tris looked down at her automail arm. It was the biggest hurtle she had gone through. Andy had fallen into a depression after the train wreck. That event had broke both of them, and even though they where fixed, Tris could understand why her dad wouldn't want to break them any more. Even still...

"It's true that ignorance is bliss," Tris told her dad, "but it's also a disaster waiting to happen. I understand why you wouldn't tell us anything, especially when it had nothing to do with us. But now, our family is being affected by this past of yours. We're getting hurt, and we don't know why. This is why we need to know what's happening. Because if we break, wouldn't it be better for us to know how to put ourselves back together then to know nothing at all?"

Ed smiled at this. His daughter sure had a way with words. She was different from her siblings in this way. Andy was harsh and angry in his wording, and Yuri was hesitant, and often beated around the bush. But Tris... she was different. She somehow knew the right things to say, and Ed had no idea where she got it from. Definitely Winry; there was no way Tris couldn't have picked up her language skills from him.

Ed bent down, wrapping his kids into a hug. He let his chin rest on Tris's shoulder. "Thank you," He whispered to her. Then, louder, he said to all his children, "I'm going to rescue your mother. I'm going to come back with her, and when I do, I will tell you three everything,"

"Promis?" Andy asked.

"I promis," Ed confirmed. He got back up, and walked back into the room.

He joined Al, who was sitting on a desk. "Do you think we can save Winry?" Al asked his big brother.

"Of course we can," Ed told him, forcing confidence into his voice and a smile onto his face. "We kicked bigger ass then this. Besides, if we can survive teacher, how bad can some cult be?"

Al let out a dry laughed, devoid of humor. "You don't have to pretend around me, brother," Al said.

Ed's face fell. He looked like he might cry, but he didn't let himself. No crying. Not until Winry was rescued. Instead, he wrapped his fingers around Alphonse's, giving his hand a squeeze. "I'm scared, Al. I'm afraid I'm going to loose Winry. What will I do if I loose her? I don't think I'll be able to take it if I loose another person close to me,"

"Then let's save Winry," Al responded. "It's natural to be scared. It's natural to worry. But we have to fight to keep our worries from coming to life,"

"It's time!" Mustang suddenly shouted. "We're moving out!"

Everyone got up, and moved out. Ed notice something terrifying; everyone wore stoic or happy expressions, but their eye's were dancing with fear.

* * *

The rescue crew had to trudge through sewage water for hours, and they had the misfortune of getting hit with an entire wave of the crap since the timing of the filtration or something... Ed wasn't really listening to the explanation Fury had given the small crew when they ended up soaked and covered in human waist. He just saw this as one more thing that would pose a problem.

Eventually, they got to the crawlspace that lead to the cult. Everyone organized themselves into a line, with Mustang in the front and Brosh, who was carrying the fake Selim, in the back. Ed was somewhere in the middle, with Al trailing behind him. He actually had never been in this crawlspace, nor the cult facility, and he hoped he wouldn't have to go down there. But there was no way he wouldn't go in after Winry. He needed to save her. He was just glad the Fuhrer let him go in along with everyone.

Everyone suddenly stopped. "Mustang, what's going on?" Ed asked.

"Shh!" Mustang demanded. "We're here," He said quietly. Mustang clapped his hands together — A convenient skill that, despite being painfully forced through the portal and blinded, Mustang couldn't say he didn't like having — and pressed them to the opening. The earth fell away, leading out of the tunnel.

Four people stood in front of the tunnel. East Central Number 1, wearing the only white cloak in the whole facility, Number 39, who had her hood down, allowing them to recognize her features, another woman, who also wore her hood down, but they barely recognized her, and Cora McGravin, the one cult member who had a name, not a number, and did not wear a cloak.

"We've been waiting," Number 1 said. "I'm assuming your hear to get Edward Elric's wife back. Do you have what we want?"

"Before we tell you that, we want to know if you have what _we_ want." Mustang growled at them.

Number 1 turned to the woman they didn't know. "Number 165, bring them the prisoner," Number 165 nodded her head, and left to grab Winry.

A few minutes later, Number 165 came back, dragging Winry along by the hair. The poor girl had her hands behind her back, and a blindfold around her eyes. Number 165 pulled Winry into an upright position, holding a knife to her neck.

"Winry!" Ed shouted from his spot, crawling past the others to get a look at her. Mustang put his arm in front of Ed before he could crawl out of the tunnel completely.

"Stay back, Fullmetal," Mustang demanded.

"Ed! Mr. Mustang!" Winry called out. "Is that you?"

"It's me, Winry! We're going to rescue you, I promis!" Ed responded.

Winry smiled. "Thank you Ed!"

"So," Number 1 said, "I'm assuming you have what we want?"

"Yes," Mustang responded, grabbing out the boxes that had the syringes full of transmuted blood. "We got the blood, just like you asked,"

Mustang handed the box to Number 1, who then examined thoroughly, counting each syringe container to make sure they were given one for every Hohenheim descendent. Once he seemed satisfied, he handed the box to McGravin.

"You do also have Selim, now don't you" Number 1 asked. "We're not giving you Winry unless we get Selim,"

"Brosh, show him" Mustang demanded.

Brosh held up the fake body they used to make Selim, making sure it was visible. "He's sleeping!" Brosh quickly lied. Number 1 gave them a small look that Ed definitely didn't like. He then turned slightly to McGravin, giving her a hand jester. She walked over to the side of the wall, leaning casually against it, and placing a pair of gloves over her tattooed hands.

"Alright then," Number 1 said. "Come over and hand us Selim,"

"We're staying right here in this tunnel," Mustang replied stubbornly, "And we want you to hand us Mrs. Elric at the _same time_ we hand you Selim,"

Number 1 looked slightly agitated at this request, but kept his face calm all the same. "Alright, Number 165, hand them Winry. I'll grab Selim as you do so,"

They made the trade very carefully. Ed reached over to Winry, grabbing her under the arms, ready to pull her into the tunnel as soon as possible. Brosh carefully handed Selim to Mustang, who carefully leaned Selim out for Number 1 to grab him. As soon as Number 1 got hold of Selim, Ed quickly pulled Winry into the tunnel, Mustang clapped his hands together, shoved them onto the ground, closing the entrance to the tunnel. Ed grabbed a knife he was given for self defense, and cut through Winry's binds. She then pulled the blindfold off her eyes.

"Thank you!" Winry said.

"No time for that!" Mustang shouted. "Move! Now! We need to get out of here!"

At this command, everybody quickly turned around, crawling away as fast as they could. Suddenly, an alchemical surge went through the ceiling, and their exit was blocked off. The entrance was reopened, revealing a displeased Number 1, and Number 39 pointing a gun at all of them. She shot, and the bullet barely missed Brosh by the ear.

"I wouldn't suggest moving!" She shouted. "I can aim a bullet about as good as Hawkeye back there. I can have all of you shot down in seconds,"

"You gave us a dummy, not what we wanted" Number 1 shouted through clenched teeth.

"Guy's, initiate plan B" Mustang whispered to the group. Everyone's fingers moved for their guns, while Al traveled to the back where the wall which blocked their exit was. Mustang slowly pressed his palms together, then slowly moved them close to the ground.

"Now!" He shouted.

Everyone whipped out their guns firing rapidly as Mustang touched the ground. The wall built up again, blocking them from the enemy. Al clapped his hands together, breaking the wall that blocked their entrance. Everyone started crawling away again. Every so often, Mustang would remake another wall to block them off, trying to make each one as thick as possible. Every so often, Al had to break through a wall of his own. But eventually, they finally got out.

Everyone ran around the sewers, trying to get as far from the tunnel as possible. Eventually they stopped, panting and out of breath.

"We did it!" Ed shouted triumphantly, pulling Winry into a hug, and refusing to let go of her. She squeezed him back.

"Thank you!" She told him. "I knew you'd come!"

"Winry!" Shouted Alphonse, running up and hugging the duo. "Your safe! I'm so glad your safe!"

"They didn't hurt you or anything, did they?" Ed asked her.

"I'm fine," Winry told him. "My muscles just ache, that's all,"

"I honestly didn't think that would work!" Catalina cheered. "I guess we were worried for nothing,"

"Well, I'd hate to kill the mood," Hawkeye pipped up, "But we're not out of the woods yet. We need to get to Central Command before we can say we're in the clear,"

"She's right," Mustang said, "We need to move out!"

They walked for around 10 minutes, trying to get to the nearest manhole. However, there was one problem.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Fury suddenly pipped up.

"Hear what?" Harthor asked from the back.

"I didn't hear anything," Breda replied.

"There it is! I heard it again!"

"I did too,"

"It's probably nothing..."

That's when Alchemical sparks lit the walls besides and behind them. Everyone quickly jumped from the sidewalk and into the sewer waters to avoid being hit by rubble. Once the walls fell, out ran dozens of people clad in dark blue cloaks, each jumping around and completely surrounding the small group. Everyone grabbed their guns out, pointing them at the different cult members, ready to shoot their way through. The surrounded Ed, Al, and Winry, making sure to keep them away from the cult. Each cult member drew out a weapon of their own, pointing it at the group. Through the crowd stepped Number 39, also holding a gun, and keeping it point at the rescue group.

"You should've just given us what we wanted in the first place," She told them, a sickening smile on her face. "I guess now we'll just have to do this the hard way,"

* * *

 **Dun dun dun!**

 **I know, I leave you guys hanging for nearly two months then just give you all another cliff hanger. I'm cruel. But hey, I updated! So not so cruel. But I also gave you guys a crap chapter. This is definitely not the best work I've produced, but I garantee that the next chapter will be better, (and will come to you faster).**

 **This chapter was slightly difficult for me to make for multiple reasons. One thing I realized is that the rescue mission that they performed probably would've never happened in the actual story for three reasons.**

 **1\. It was out of Armstrongs character. If I kept Armstrong in character, she would've just let Winry die, but I need Winry for later plot material.**

 **2\. The group sent in would've been smaller. As you could see from the story, most of the people present weren't actually needed, so they wouldn't have had come in. But I made it a semi-large group because of what I plan to do with these people. So logic had to be thrown to the way side. Sorry. You will also not like what I plan to do with these people either. Just warning you.**

 **3\. The plan kinda sucked in general, but I don't have any better idea's so we get this. Sorry.**

 **So basically I had to make the choice between eliminating OOC-ness and keeping logic or forwarding the plot. I choose the plot. Because this is such a big point that I can't just change it to satisfy the characters, no matter how much I want to. But I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn't happen again. So please be patient with me.**

 **Now that we've gotten that clarified, I'd like to apologies for not updating in so long. It's really inexcusable, but I will lay the blame on my brain, which constantly multitask, and I keep getting hundreds of new ideas every day, some of them which I can't help but want to write. So it's been awhile. I'm sorry. Really sorry. Not enough apologies in the world can make up for what I did.**

 **Anyways, I'll have to work on a good updating schedule, since so far, I seem to have none. I did have one, but considering I have so many other stories to work on, I don't think I can do the same schedule as I was doing before. But whatever.**

 **Read my other stories. Both because they are good and because if I don't work on this for a while, I'm sure to have the other stuff out to make up for it. Plus I just like people reading my stuff. 'Cause it's nice to get views.**

 **I guess I have nothing else to say. I apologies for everything. I love you all. I do. And I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. I hope that once I send this out, you are willing to pick up and read this story once again. Thank you.**

 **~MotherUniverse signing out.**


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